The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MOAF) has parted ways with the divestment unit of the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), the Government agency which has overseen some of the largest sales of government assets in the ministry’s portfolio and is now trying on its own to sell assets once owned by its commodity boards.

The MOAF has also newly committed the consideration for repurchase and resale of the 5,000-acre Wallenford property to subsidiary the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA).

The push to divest cocoa assets falls under the effort, over the past four decades, by the Government of Jamaica to relinquish its interests in assets that span sectors including the financial, utilities, transport, tourism and agro-processing sectors through modalities that include divestments through asset sales and leases and public-private partnerships.

The DBJ is the Government’s central implementing agency for the country’s Public-Private Partnerships and Privatisation (P4) programme. The divestment programme falls under its aegis.

The DBJ was responsible for the multi-billion-dollar sale of Wallenford Coffee estate and also Mavis Bank Coffee Factory in the prior decade. It was also tasked with the marketing of several properties falling under the former cocoa board that were set for sale from 2017/2018.

However, the association providing divestment assistance no longer exists, the Jamaica Observer was advised in December 2022. The DBJ advised in a response to the Business Observer, “Please be advised that the Development Bank of Jamaica is no longer supporting the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on the privatisation of the commercial assets of the former Cocoa Industry Board. All queries regarding same should be posed to the Ministry. Additionally, please note that the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority [JACRA] now has responsibility for the Cocoa Industry Board. You may contact JACRA for information.”

The DBJ further noted, “at the end of the tender process in 2019, no bids were received and as such no assets were sold.”

The Business Observer was advised thorough JACRA that the divestment of assets once belonging to the cocoa board (now a part of JACRA) was being centrally managed by the MOAF.

The MOAF was contacted for an update on the sale of cocoa board assets in January. No reply was received before this publication.

Four assets

JACRA has meanwhile taken over the marketing of cocao output, classified as Jamaican fine cocao. The export division of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, which had previously been tasked with marketing output until the commercial assets of the cocoa board have been divested.

Former assets of the Cocoa Industry Board include fermentaries at Richmond in St Mary and at Morgan’s Valley in Clarendon to process the beans for sale.

Those properties are among four assets to be divested — the others being another fermentary at Haughton Court in Lucea, Hanover, and a cocoa farm located in Richmond, St Mary.

Divestment agents, in its previous efforts to offload the assets, disclosed that an initial deal was struck with investor Michael Lee-Chin, but this eventually faltered.

Byron Henry, export manager for MOAF, said at the time that he knew of several Jamaicans who were interested in acquiring the assets, but could not disclose their names.

The operations of the Cocoa Industry Board, as well as the Coffee Industry Board and the agriculture ministry’s export unit that traded spices and other agricultural products, were merged into a new regulatory body, the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority. The Coconut Industry Board was also folded into that body.

The DBJ, in its ongoing efforts to sell or revamp government assets, works in collaboration with the PPP unit in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to assess PPP projects across the public sector.

Through the DBJ P4 programme, investors are invited to own or operate State-owned assets or partner with the Government to deliver public infrastructure and services.

Some of the completed P4 transactions to include: Highway 2000 PPP via the (National Road Operating and Construction Company (NROCC); Kingston Container Terminal PPP — executed between the DBJ and Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ); Norman Manley International Airport PPP — executed between the DBJ and Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ); North-South Highway PPP — NROCC and the Sangster International Airport (SIA) PPP — executed between the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (DBJ/NIBJ) and the /AAJ.

Privatisations completed by the DBJ unit include Caymanas Track Ltd, Jamaica Pegasus Hotel Divestment, Petroleum Company of Jamaica — DBJ/Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), Wigton Windfarm and the Greater Bernard Lodge Development which is ongoing.