Banana
shortage is apparently not a problem for JP (Jamaica Producers).
They've
begun to lay plans to make products from local fruit for export, including
Breadfruit as noted in “Breadfruit
Snack Heading Overseas - JP Starts Shipping In August, Others Ramp Up Fruit
Production”, published Sunday July 23, 2017 by Avia Collinder, The Jamaica Gleaner.
They’ve'
developed a plan to quadruple the crops produced on their farms in Agualta
Vale, St Mary from 210 hectares to 420 hectares by 2019. Managing Director of
Jamaica Producers Group Jeffery Hall says JP would be exporting breadfruit
chips by August 2017, as there is a global increase in demand for the fruit as
pointed out in my blog article
entitled “How
RADA's National Fruit-Tree Crop Project benefits Breadfruit Farmers, Red Stripe
and GOJ”.
JP
plans to use the USA as a test market, with the UK coming on stream next year
to quote Jeffery Hall: "We are particularly pleased to report that we will
begin exporting the product to the USA for the first time in August".
Breadfruit is among several fruits and vegetables which will be used to make VA
(Value Added Products) include:
1. Bananas
2. Cassava
3. Potato
varieties
4. Breadfruit
5. Pineapple
JP
already makes and distributes several types of chips which are sold in local
and foreign markets:
1. Banana
2. Cassava
3. Plantain
Breadfruit
as a snack option would not be new or even a surprise to many Jamaicans, as it
tastes great when fried and goes well with anything else. But mass production
might be a problem, as it takes three (3) years from planting to bear fruits
unlike Banana chips which is made from excess banana as noted in my blog article entitled “How
Banana Shortage in Jamaica indicates Bananas extinct in Caribbean by 2020”.
Realizing
this, JP has locked in contracts with farmers to supply the fruit, hinting at
local price increases in the future as farmers may sell what they have to JP in
preference to selling it in the market. But why breadfruit?
JP and Breadfruit –
Breadfruit Chips popular but Flour the real money maker
Breadfruit,
a cheaply grown Jamaican staple, has byproducts that are gluten-free. This
means that the flour produced by Breadfruit may find favour with the
health-conscious market in the United States and Canada
But it may be the flour that carries the highest value, with an almost 500% value added boost once processes into a flour to quote Michael McLaughlin of the TFFF (Trees That Feed Foundation): “The wholesale price is only US$0.50 to US$0.80 per fruit weighing an average of four pounds. The local price for processed breadfruit is US$3-US$5 per pound. The math shows a value add of at least 500 per cent, which is more than enough to cover the costs of production and distribution”.
Currently
the demand for flour made from breadfruit is around 300,000 tonnes per month.
Good to note that JP has already been selling breadfruit chips solely to
Jamaicans for the past six (6) years.
However,
come August 2017, they'll be testing out the North American market, now more
health conscious than before and looking for sugar free snack options as noted
in my MICO Wars blog
article entitled “How
Gracekennedy Aloe Vera Sinkle Bibles American Health Drinks in 2016”.
In 2016, JP made some US$12 billion in
revenue; their food and drink operations contributed $8 billion with their
snacks division contributing some 12% of total revenue. With some 93 million
people consuming breadfruit, an a potential demand of 150 million in markets
as-yet tapped by JP and other producers, the sky is the limit as to how much
breadfruit as a snack and a healthy eating option can bring in for the company.
So
says Managing Director of Jamaica Producers Group Jeffery Hall, quote: “The
opportunities for breadfruit are meaningful. The demand exceeds supply. We hope
to grow breadfruit exports to 10 per cent of the snack business by this time
next year”.
To
this end JP is working with farmers to boost production, as they have
everything set including new packaging come September 2017 to quote Mr
Hall: “JP is a leading producer of
breadfruit chips. Our demand for this product is very strong and as such we are
actively promoting cultivation of the crop and are working with farmers and
engaging other interests, including Trees That Feed Foundation. In line with
the significant growth potential for this product, we are launching a brand new
package in September”.
Breadfruit
may be the new Banana chips enjoyed by Americans and the Brits, if JP's plans
succeed.
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