COFFEE is the island's top growth crop with export earnings up 32 per cent year over year despite fears of a downturn in the market.

The luxury bean earned US$33.9 million (J$3 billion) between January and October or 31.9 per cent more than the US$25.7-million (J$2.3-billion) earned over the corresponding period in 2008, according to the latest data from the Bank of Jamaica.

In October alone, earnings were US$693,000, up 13 per cent on the previous year's US$611,000, suggesting that coffee has, to date, been able to resist declines due to the economic downturn.

The next best performing traditional or non-traditional crop was cocoa, up 20.2 per cent over the review period earning US$1.7 million.

The worst performing exports were gypsum and bananas, declining 95.7 and 86.1 per cent, respectively.

The fear is that the economic downturn will eventually start affecting coffee sales, and the regulator, Coffee Industry Board (CIB), has been trying to boost sales, especially in the Japanese market which buys 85 per cent of Jamaica's beans.

This week, the CIB hosted 27 representatives from the East Japan Coffee Roasters Association (JCRA) as part of that strategy. The JCRA is an influential group of micro-roasters and café owners that sell Jamaican coffee directly to Japanese clients in the eastern region, including Tokyo.

"This visit comes at a time when the demand for the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, one the island's premier luxury products, has been affected by the worldwide recession," stated the CIB in a release on Tuesday.

"The negotiations for the sales of this year's crop have been protracted and this has had an impact upon the timing and quantum of payments to the farming community. The work to sell this coffee in the markets will require creativity, and every additional pound of coffee sold will have a significant impact upon the coffee farmers of Jamaica," said the CIB.

The JCRA delegation, led by Toshitaka Maeda, president of MCFoods, and supported by Takita Teiichi of MCFoods, visited the CIB, Mavis Bank Coffee Factory, Wallenford Coffee Company, BM Coffee Processors, High Mountain farms, as well as the Department of Chemistry of the University of the West Indies, which tests coffee for pesticide residue.

Their visit follows similar trips by delegations from South Africa and China.

The CIB and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries are currently trying to diversify and strengthen the coffee market.

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