With Hurricane Melissa making landfall yesterday as a Category 5 weather event–projected to be the strongest hurricane the island has ever seen–at press time, reports indicate that the hurricane will hit the southern coast of the island the hardest. This is the section of the island where the majority of its fresh produce is grown. In addition to that, it's also expected to produce rainfall amounts of 15-30 inches which will cause both flash floods and landslides.
© National Hurricane Center
A satellite look at the hurricane.
"The parish of St Elizabeth, known as the breadbasket parish of Jamaica will be hit the hardest. We expect a vast amount of crop loss and a shortage of fresh produce for the next three months," says Claudia Barrett, owner of Fresh Box Jamaica, an online food retailer that sells produce to restaurants, bars and food enterprises. Also in St.Elizabeth, the Government of Jamaica is to undertake a massive irrigation expansion project to bring irrigation water to the Pedro Plains of St. Elizabeth, a project that will likely be delayed for several weeks at least by the hurricane.
She notes that another pressing concern is that diseases may affect the country's crops after the hurricane, given that rainfall will create conditions that allow for pests and pathogens to thrive. "The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining made an appeal to farmers prior to the hurricane to harvest the crops that they can harvest and store them properly as best as possible," says Barrett.
Pricing impacted too
Also expected with the shortage is price volatility on fresh produce and notably, prices are largely expected to increase. "Fresh produce may have to be imported in the interim until the fresh produce market stabilizes," says Barrett. This week though, the Government of Jamaica has declared Jamaica to be a threatened area and has enforced an order–the "sale of goods during the period of threatened area- Tropical Storm Melissa Order, 2025." This prohibits retailers from increasing the prices of essential goods including food, water, medical supplies, personal care items, building materials and emergency equipment for the duration of the declared period. Afterwards, fresh produce prices are expected to increase.
© Fresh Box Jamaica
The company supplies products such as Persian limes and papayas. Fresh produce supply could be short for the next three months.
Barrett also notes that after the storm, the Ministry of Agriculture should mobilize seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and soil recovery inputs to get the industry back on its feet as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, while larger purveyors and exporters already have produce in storage for distribution island-wide and for export, they still may face challenges in the coming weeks. "After a rapid assessment is done after the storm, we will have a better idea of the damage to the fresh produce market," she says.
For more information:
Claudia Barrett
Fresh Box Jamaica
Tel: +1 (876) 329-1607
[email protected]
http://www.freshboxjamaica.com/
