Jamaica
News - Real Estate - General
Source: The Jamaica Observer, Balford Henry, April 11, 2005
Gov't plans strong
marketing programme for local foods
The Government has included a programme to
aggressively market local foods on a wider scale in its Agricultural Development
Strategy 2005-2008. The marketing programme, according to Agriculture Minister
Roger Clarke, is expected to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and
sustainability of the system currently in operation.
Clarke told guests at last week's launch of
the 25th anniversary celebrations of local fast food chain, Juici Patties, at
the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston that his ministry would seek to achieve
the objective by: upgrading the existing marketing infrastructure; promoting
partnerships between buyers and sellers; supporting initiatives by the private
sector and non-government sector in the marketing of agricultural products;
improving the quality of planning and co-ordination between agricultural
producers and end-users; and ensure a supportive framework of agricultural
policies.
The crops to be targeted were selected from a
priority listing in the production programme, based on an assessment of their
competitive advantages and the market opportunities both local and overseas.
Clarke said that this move was triggered by a
need for a more effective system of marketing local agricultural products used
by companies like Juici Patties.
He said that Juici Patties had impacted
positively on sustainable agricultural development, primarily through its
provision of a reliable market for Jamaican beef and poultry, as well as for
numerous other agricultural products.
This was demonstrated by the fact that 2004
figures indicated that the company's demand for meat on a daily basis stood at
25 heads of cattle and 2,500 pounds of chicken, plus a weekly demand for 2,000
pounds of cabbage, 2,000 pounds of hot pepper, 2,500 pounds of escallion, 1,000
pounds of onions, 1,000 pounds of sweet potato, 3,000 pounds of callaloo, 2,500
pounds of pak choy and 1,000 pounds of carrots.
Despite these obvious marketing opportunities,
however, the minister said that he was aware that the company was experiencing
problems with inconsistencies in the supply of some products, especially sea
fish, lobster, ackee, callaloo, pak choy, scotch bonnet pepper, escallion and
beef; as well as poor quality, particularly as it relates to the appearance of
ground provisions and the current supply of beef.
"The result is that Juici Patties is
often forced to cut production in some areas and has, on occasions, had to stop
producing some food items," Clarke said. "Against this background, one
can clearly understand the extent to which inconsistent supply is proving to be
the main challenge to our efforts to improve the marketing of agricultural
produce."
He said that this was because the effective
marketing of such products required reliable and timely supply, in sufficient
quantities, at competitive prices and of satisfactory quality. It was therefore
not surprising that the marketing of agricultural produce is a major constraint
in improving the sector's competitiveness.
Founder of Juici Patties, Jukie Chin, told
guests how he started making patties at the age of 16 using his father's small
oven in Rocky Point, Clarendon. Then moving to May Pen 25 years ago and selling
50 patties on his first day in the town.
"I carefully made adjustments to the taste
and texture of the patties, constantly testing for consumer acceptance of the
product. Soon our patty sales began to overload the capacity of the small oven
at my father's shop," said Chin, a Business Observer Business Leader
nominee in 1999.
After sales became even more encouraging, he
borrowed money and established shops in Old Harbour, Mandeville, Christiana,
Linstead, Half-Way-Tree, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Santa Cruz, producing the
patties at each location.
The company eventually established a patty
factory at Hazard Drive in May Pen and started diversifying into a variety of
patties and meat loaves, including chicken, lobster, shrimp and vegetables.
"Over the years, we expanded to a total
of 30 branches, some of which are managed by franchisees who undertake the
investment of setting up the shops under licence from Juici Patties," Chin
related.
After the Hazard Drive property exceeded its
capacity, the company acquired the Greenfield property at Clarendon Park,
obtained loans from the Development Bank of Jamaica and other commercial banks,
and built a 70,000 square foot state-of-the-art patty factory complex which
includes an abattoir, a meat shop, a super store, a 24-hour rest stop, a modern
waste water treatment plant, a gym for employees and a nursery for their
children. An amphitheatre and theme park are planned for the complex, which will
be formally opened in July.
Chin said that Juici Patties had now grown
into a full restaurant chain serving a wide variety of traditional and other
Jamaican dishes, including ackee and saltfish, liver and bananas, saltfish and
callaloo and kidney and yams as well as hominy and peanut porridge for
breakfast.
His wife, Edit Chin, announced plans for the
company's One Jamaica campaign which, she said, would provide an opportunity for
everyone to work towards building one Jamaica, the theme for the company's 25th
anniversary.
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