On March 25, Grace Agro Processors (GAP), Denbigh became the sixth factory to be opened in Jamaica by the GraceKennedy Group.

The factory will be working with farmers in and around May Pen, as well as across Jamaica, to source inputs for the manufacturing of Grace products for local consumption and export.

The 60,000 square foot facility employs some 70 persons, with that number reaching as high as 120 during peak periods of production.

GAP Denbigh currently has three lines up and running. One has the capacity to produce vacuum-sealed, frozen produce, such as yams and sweet potato; another produces canned products, including ackee and callaloo, and the final is a bottling line, where Grace Foods’ popular jerk seasoning is produced.

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[naviga:li]Vacuum-sealed, frozen sweet potatoes will be produced at GAP Denbigh[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Vacuum-sealed, frozen yams will be produced at GAP Denbigh[/naviga:li]

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“Our partnership with the Jamaican farmers has been mutually beneficial, and we hope will assist us in the bid to secure steady and consistent supply to satisfy the demand for our products both at home and abroad,” said GraceKennedy Group CEO, Don Wehby.

Grace Foods Domestic CEO, Frank James, underscored the point, noting that, at the peak of the ackee crop, GAP Denbigh will be depending on supplies of approximately 13,000 dozen ackee each day to satisfy its export demand.

Grace ships canned ackee to the UK, USA, Canada and the Caribbean.

GAP Denbigh gets the raw material for its canned callaloo from the Grace Agro Processors facility in Hounslow, St Elizabeth. The product comes shredded in bulk packaging and is then canned and processed at the Denbigh plant.

Grace Jerk Seasoning, also manufactured with pepper mash from the Hounslow plant, at GAP Denbigh, is exported to the US and Canadian markets. The product is also shipped in bulk to Grace Foods UK, where it is reprocessed for retail sale.

“We are pleased to have opened this facility and look forward to the value it will add, not only to the community in Clarendon and its environs, but to the Grace Foods quality line of products, and our business overall,” said Wehby.