The Coffee regulator in Jamaica reportedly wants to further tax coffee imports to fund local production.
The Coffee Industry Board Jamaica (CIB) said the cess would finance local farmers.
“This recommendation to the minister was made after extensive consultations with the stakeholders in the coffee industry. The minister has publicly expressed his agreement with the proposal and he will, at the appropriate time and place, announce the amount of the cess and how it will be applied,” the CIB reportedly indicated to local media.
Jamaica’s coffee production has fallen to less than 200,000 boxes annually from a high of more than 500,000 boxes in 2004.
Jamaica Blue Mountain remains in short supply due to a confluence of factors now led by fires and the berry borer disease. Coffee exports totaled some US$13 million last year down from some US$25 million in pre-crisis levels.
jamaicamocha 