The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is aware of the concerns of citrus growers in respect to the take off of the current citrus crop.
As is well known, the Jamaica Citrus Growers Limited (JCGL) has been experiencing financial difficulties for some time now. This has affected their ability to finance the purchase of fruits from farmers. It is against this background that the Ministry intervened last year to provide working capital support in the amount of $60 Million to assist with paying for last year’s crop. This assistance was contingent on the Jamaica Citrus Growers Association (JCGA) agreement to work with the Ministry to restructure the entity and inject equity from the private sector. This exercise has been ongoing and the Ministry has now completed the release of this support for last year’s crop.
In relation to this year’s crop, the JCGL will not be able to purchase the fruits. However, the Ministry is encouraged by preliminary discussions with another processor to purchase this year’s crop from the farmers, and in this regard, the JCGA will finalize arrangements with this processor shortly. In the meanwhile, the Ministry continues to collaborate with the Citrus Growers Association, and initiatives to restructure the organization and engage equity partners are proceeding apace. |
