TOKYO, Japan — A delegation from the Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association (JCEA) is currently in Japan to attend the joint JCEA/Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) meeting with the All Japan Importers of Jamaican Coffee at the Big Sight Convention Centre in Tokyo.

Chairman of the JCEA, Dr Norman Grant, noted that the JCEA is seeking to expand the association to the Jamaica Coffee Manufacturer and Exporters Association (JCMEA) to cover its expanded role as a manufacturer, and that members of the JCEA now have their facilities certified by Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Safe Quality Food Institute (SQF), United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Rainforest and other international certifications.

Grant noted further that coffee farmers are now more engaged and trying to increase their production due to a steady increase in cherry coffee prices over the last three years.

“There have also been improvements in quality at the farm gate level and processing level, with higher pass rates on quality tests at JACRA. Greater collaboration is taking place with JACRA in developing plans to increase production in the sector,” he said.

However, Grant said among the challenges are reduced margins for processors as the increase in cherry coffee prices has not been passed on to the export price, which he said was not sustainable.

On the upside, he said there was a growing demand for Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee globally and in order to meet this demand, the JCEA had set itself some near-term goals, including increasing coffee production from 220,000 boxes to 450,000 boxes by 2030; increasing farm yields; improving quality; and generally introducing programmes to ensure the sustainability of the Jamaican coffee industry.

Grant said there would also be strenuous attention paid to maintaining ISO 9001:2015 certification; continual revision of industry standards; adaptation of new technology techniques; partnering with farmers to reduce the carbon footprint in the coffee industry; collaboration with scientific research bodies to analyse and improve the typical strain of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee; and increased consistency in meeting customer requirements.