MONTEGO BAY, St James — Players in Jamaica’s fast-expanding tourism sector are not yet convinced that they will have to look overseas for farm produce despite the devastating impact of Hurricane Beryl on the local agriculture sector.

Preliminary estimates days after Beryl indicated at least $1 billion worth of damage among all crops on the island, with fruits, tubers, vegetables and most other crops impacted. It was estimated that between 80 and 100 per cent of bananas and plantains were wiped out.

While there is some concern, the consensus among tourism interests, who spoke with the
Jamaica Observer late last week, was that so far there has not been any real impact — but they are watching what happens in the coming weeks.

“We’re not there yet,” said Nadine Spence, head of the Montego Bay Chapter of Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA), in response to questions about looking for imports to meet the demand of the tourism sector for agricultural produce.

“I saw [Agriculture] Minister [Floyd] Green on the ground with them in St Elizabeth but most certainly we are not there yet,” added Spence as she insisted that should a shortfall happen, there should be strategies implemented to ensure that the tourism industry can continue.

“If it is that there needs to be some sort of importation of goods then that is what we would have to look to, but for now the industry is satisfied as it relates to food items. But, of course, there are certainly concerns for the weeks to come,” added Spence.

She pointed to the resilience of the sector which she said has been weathering these sorts of issues over the years.

“Even throughout COVID there was quite a few, when the clients stopped coming, we had to do what we had to do. People would package stuff to sell them off at different prices,” she highlighted.

It’s a similar stance by head of the Ocho Rios and Port Antonio Chapter of JHTA, Vana Taylor .

She said so far things have continued, despite the potential implications that could come from the impact on the agricultural sector by Beryl.

“The suppliers have been good, especially the larger suppliers, and I have not heard any complaints, not in my region,” Taylor told the Observer.

According to Taylor, the possibility of importing agricultural produce has not yet come up in the discussions in her region.

She explained that most tourism interests are more concerned about getting connections back to the various utilities.

“We’re just trying to get our systems up and running, working with the utility companies — Flow and Digicel — to ensure that we have the services,” said Taylor.

“As you can imagine, the majority of the hotels were on generators for the entire period. A lot of them came off during the course of the week or just yesterday [Thursday] some came off. That was our focus in this region, and we want to thank them tremendously and those agencies that have been doing the work,” she said.

However, for former president of Negril Chamber of Commerce and Industry Richard Wallace there are some issues related to agricultural produce which they have already started to notice just over one week after Hurricane Beryl.

“Prices are starting to shift already and there is concern about the supply,” said Wallace.

“We have been getting warnings from the stakeholders in agriculture that there is going to be shortage at least for another cycle while they replant,” added Wallace.

He told the Observer that operators in the Negril area are trying to prepare as best as possible for any outcome, despite the fact that a lot of the establishments there are considered small.

“Most of the small properties are too small to import directly themselves so we would have to depend on the Government, or larger suppliers, to do the importation and then sell to us. That’s what we look at,” he said.

Like Taylor, Wallace said the major concern post-Beryl is getting the utilities back to hotels and other establishments in the area.

“Some of us have generators that have been running since but the fuel costs for that is high and many small businesses [are feeling the effect] — remember it’s not just hotels that are doing business down here,” he said. “You have a lot of small restaurants and shops that Jamaicans own that have to be closed because there is no electricity,” added Wallace.

The Government has already pledged swift and substantial support for farmers in the hardest-hit parishes of Jamaica, in the aftermath of Beryl.

Just over one week ago, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green announced that resources are being mobilised to aid recovery efforts, particularly in St Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon.