Sorrel supply moderate for Christmas, long-standing problem for manufacturers
Published:Sunday | November 17, 2024 | 12:07 AMLuke Douglas - Senior Business Reporter
There is a level of uncertainty about the supply of sorrel and other locally grown crops for the rest of the year, following the passage of Tropical Storm Rafael as well as weeks of heavy rains that have inundated the island.
But the lack of sorrel on the market is a long-standing one not only for householders preparing the refreshing drink for the festive season, but also manufacturers producing the beverage year-round.
Stakeholders in the agricultural sector, including former president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society Lenworth Fulton, say there could be less sorrel available as well as vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, sweet pepper and escallion, most of which were just recovering from devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl which struck the island in early July.
Fulton said sorrel supply would be moderate but adequate for the upcoming Christmas season.
“Sorrel supply will be moderate for Christmas due to unfavourable weather, that is rain and wind, as well as disease earlier in the year in some of the major sorrel areas. However, adequate amounts will be available,” Fulton told the Financial Gleaner.
He said tomatoes may be scarce due to the passage of Rafael so close to the Christmas season.
Other vegetables impacted by the rainy weather include cabbage, cauliflower, sweet pepper, thyme and escallion, he added.
Meanwhile, one of the companies that manufactures sorrel products in the form of teas says it has to import most of its inputs from as far as Nigeria.
John Mahfood, CEO of Jamaican Teas Limited, says not enough sorrel is grown locally to meet his company’s needs.
“We have to import it because there’s not enough local sorrel. So of course, with the rain and the hurricane that has made it worse. Our problem is sorrel is really only grown for Christmas and we need it all throughout the year,” Mahfood told the Financial Gleaner.
Sorrel is “a big drink” in many parts of Africa and is grown in large quantities in Nigeria and Egypt as well as parts of the Middle East, but that’s not the case in the Caribbean and Latin American region, where very little sorrel is grown commercially, with the exception of Mexico, Mahfood added.
Jamaican Teas uses some locally grown sorrel, but he declined to say what percentage, only offering that it was “a small amount”.
The manufacturing company makes two sorrel products: sorrel tea bags and sorrel and ginger tea bags. Jamaican Teas used to make a sorrel instant tea some years ago, but it was discontinued because of the high production cost.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green reported to Parliament on Tuesday that the rains associated with Raphael caused damage estimated at $620 million for the agricultural sector.