Bananas and Plantains Should Return by February 2025

• Bananas and plantains are expected to return to the market in good supply by February 2025. Addressing Wednesday’s (September 25) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, said both crops contribute more than $13Bn annually to Jamaica’s economy and were severely impacted by Hurricane Beryl.
• Detailed assessments revealed that approximately 64 percent of the crops in production were damaged, translating to more than $1.8Bn needed to resuscitate the crops.
• The minister noted that at least 73 major banana farmers lost over 50% of their crops and that it normally takes seven to nine months for banana crops to recover. In response, the government initially allocated $40Mn through the Banana Board, providing assistance to about 2,300 banana farmers. This support includes fertiliser and a six-week recovery plan to help restore their crops.
• Notably, in August 2024, monthly food prices rose by 4.3%, driven primarily by a 15.5% increase in ‘Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses.’ The increase in agricultural produce was one of the primary drivers of the spike in inflation in August due to supply shortages following the damage wrought by Hurricane Beryl. We anticipate that banana and plantain prices are likely to remain elevated until production normalises.
• PanJam is also likely to see its earnings adversely impacted for the September quarter as Subsidiary, JP Farms lost over 90% of its crops due to Hurricane Beryl. PanJam recently acquired JP’s core operating businesses, including JP Farms, in exchange for a 34.5% ownership stake in PanJam. Management noted that it has commenced its recovery efforts and aims to restore full production and sales by the first quarter of 2025.

(Sources: JIS & NCBCM Research)