JAMAICAN Teas Limited is experiencing a decline in its sales to the crucial United States market, with its chief executive citing higher tariffs, heightened immigration enforcement, and the suspension of food stamp payments as factors pressuring consumer spending among the Caribbean Diaspora.

“In the US our sales are down,” CEO John Mahfood said in an interview Friday with the Jamaica Observer, detailing a “triple threat” that has led to weaker-than-expected performance in his key markets of states like New York and Florida.

“The reason is three things,” Mahfood told the Business Observer. “One is the tariff, not only on our goods, but on other goods from other places, [which] is pushing up the price to the consumer, and so the consumer has less spending money.”

He further explained that during recent visits to retailers that stock his products in Miami and New York, owners reported that increased activity by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in public areas frequented by the diaspora community was deterring shoppers. “People who are undocumented are tending to shy away from those places. They just go to work and go home,” Mahfood said, with store owners reporting a decline in both customer numbers and shopping frequency.

The third factor, he noted, was the recent suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments, commonly known as food stamps, due to a partial US Government shutdown, a benefit upon which many in the diaspora community rely. “That is a lot of money. That is like 1,000 dollars a month per person and when you lose that you lose the ability to buy as much,” Mahfood stated. The shutdown referenced in the interview was resolved late Sunday when US lawmakers passed a stopgap funding bill, restoring the benefit programme. However, the temporary lapse in payments had already impacted household budgets during the critical pre-Christmas shopping period.

Mahfood’s commentary underscored the specific challenges in the US market, which had traditionally been a strong export destination.

When asked if the company was actively redirecting its focus from the US to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) market, Mahfood dismissed the notion. “Exporters are trying their best to export as much as possible. I don’t think that that is what is happening,” he said.

He suggested that the financial pressure on the diaspora was likely to be compounded by the recent hurricane in Jamaica, which would increase demands for remittances from families back home at a time when their own finances are stretched.

“So yeah, man, right now it’s not a good picture,” Mahfood concluded.

Despite the significant headwinds in the US market, Jamaican Teas reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of $260.6 million for the full year to September 2025, more than doubling the $124.2 million from the prior year. A powerful fourth quarter, which contributed $141.3 million to this bottom line, was a key driver. The company’s manufacturing division saw full-year export revenues grow by 22 per cent, a figure that, while tempered by the late-year US slowdown, was driven by stronger performance in other overseas markets, particularly the Eastern Caribbean.