Immediately the ban was slapped on imported beef from the United states where Mad Cow disease was found, many Jamaicans welcomed what seemed a major opportunity for local cattle farmers to cash in. But the celebrations were shortlived.

Following complaints from users of certain fine cuts of beef, the agriculture ministry approved a search for new beef sources, a clear admission that the industry could not meet local demand for beef.

Jamaica does not have the resources to deliver the fine cuts of top quality beef that are required by the hotel industry and many local restaurants, industry sources admit.

“A lot needs to be done before we can do so,” says Jamaica Livestock Association (JLA) director, Dr Karl Wellington, in an interview with the Sunday Observer. “We need proper slaughtering facilities and, even more so, animals and good pastures.”

Much of the fine cuts such as tenderloin, striploin, burger, top and bottom round are usually imported from the US and other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Panama, since the island only has one modern plant – the Content Agricultural Products Limited owned by Jamaica Broilers in Bog Walk, St Catherine – that can produce quality cuts of the meat.

Of the 7.5 million kilos of beef imported each year, two-thirds of the supplies came from the US, up until last year’s temporary ban.

Preliminary figures from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) showed that local importers brought in more than $80 million worth of beef from the US alone between January and June 2003. In 2002, more than $1 billion worth of the prime cuts was imported.

But this was not always so. Local farmers produced well over 80 per cent of the island’s consumption through the 1980s to 1996, according to Dr Wellington.

But with a dwindling cattle breeding industry and outdated slaughtering facilities, the island has virtually lost its grip on the 80 per cent market share it owned up until the mid-1990s. And, the dip is blamed on unfair practices in the industry.

“A lot of farmers were traumatised because they were not getting enough for their cows,” says Wellington. “Some of the farmers have either sold their animals, reduced their herds and are doing something else, or those who had only a few animals are out of business completely.”

Having been in the business for over 40 years, Wellington knows a thing or two about the local cattle industry. He has seen the industry reduced from 400,000 heads (slaughtering animals) in 1996 to almost 283,000, in a 2002 survey. Cattle farmers also dropped from 51,000 in 1996 to 26,300.

“It was mainly because of the traditional system of selling animals where the butcher robs the farmer and between the butcher and processing, consumers are also robbed,” he adds.

This, he says, sent several farmers out of business, which is now evident in the dwindling herds.

“The faithfuls got this traumatic experience since 1996 and it dealt a serious body blow to the industry.”

The departure of local farmers from the industry has not only paved the way for importation, but has seen once thriving pastures transformed to huge clumps of wild bush.

And, for the few faithfuls who are still trying to blow breath into the dying industry, inadequate facilities have branded their kill “not up to standard”, remarks Wellington.

According to the JLA director, the island boasts 11 municipal slaughterhouses and about 900 other privately-owned facilities, but these do not meet the required standards.

“The only one that can be recognised is the Content plant in Bog Walk,” he explains. “But that is not enough if we are seriously thinking about the local demand. We need up-to-date slaughtering facilities.”

Achieving quality beef, Dr Wellington argues, is far from just chasing a cow and chopping off its head.

“You can’t get good beef then, because the animal is traumatised,” he explains.

Ensuring quality beef, he advises, has a lot to do with the handling of animals prior to and after slaughtering. That animal’s quality is heavily dependent on what it eats and how it’s grown.

Feeding patterns that ensure the animal gets the nutrients necessary for growth are the best bet. A well-maintained pasture with grass that is regularly fertilised and irrigated produces a good animal, but its quality can be enhanced if it is also grain-fed.

“You can get a quality animal if it is grass-fed but grain-feeding enhances its quality and that animal can also be slaughtered at a younger age,” he tells the Sunday Observer.

But local farmers are not managing their pastures as they did in past decades, coupled with the fact that the cost of grains – which are mostly imported – are higher than what most small farmers can manage.

However, despite the gaps and leaks in the industry, Dr Wellington believes that the industry can be revived – but only with hard work backed by billions of dollars.

“It’s a whole lot to do,” he says.

“Although we don’t have the population, we have the potential to get back up if we get our pastures in shape, build proper slaughtering and processing facilities and improve our marketing arrangements.”

Adds Dr Wellington: “If we are to compete on an international basis, we need to have the modern facilities to convert the cattle into top quality beef.”