Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw ( 2nd left), greets Chairman, Salada Foods Jamaica, Patrick Williams, at a press briefing on Salada’s $200 million coffee initiative, at the Courtleigh Hotel, New Kingston, on Monday, November 19, 2018. Others (from left) are Executive Director, Economic Growth Council, Senator Aubyn Hill; General Manager, Dianna Blake-Bennett and Director, Kathryn Lewis, Salada. Salada has invested $200m in the advance purchase of local coffee berries for use in the processing of instant coffee.
Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Audley Shaw, has commended Salada Foods Jamaica for its $200-m injection into the coffee industry with the advance purchase of 25,000 boxes of local coffee cherries.
Noting the downturn in the sale of coffee berries, resulting from a high inventory of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee in the Japanese market, Minister Shaw said offload their product goes a long way towards settling the concerns of farmers who need additional markets for the sale of their berries.
This, he said, would ensure that this world renowned agricultural asset will be sold, ensuring that the farmers’ livelihoods and investments do not rot in the fields.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites in New Kingston on November 19 to announce this pilot project, Minister Shaw said, “I want to commend Salada for the foresight and vision of taking a potential crisis and turning it into what may end up being a golden opportunity.”
This initiative, which represents a shift in Salada’s operation from the purchasing of green beans, will see Salada partnering with Stoneleigh Coffee Processors Ltd to process cherries from the current crop into green beans and then blend into instant coffee.
Noting that long-term solutions are needed to put the industry back on the path it was years ago when 700,000 boxes of Blue Mountain coffee and more than 400,000 boxes of High Mountain Coffee were produced, Minister Shaw stated that Government is committed to working with farmers, and processors towards charting a path of even greater success.
