Canadian yam exporters rattled by increasing price

WESTERN BUREAU:

An appeal by Trelawny yam farmers for exporters to increase the amount they pay for their tuber has seemingly not attracted the desired response as consumers in Canada are of mixed views on the request.

“Jamaican yams are something special and different. I really can’t think of another starch that comes close, so purchasing yams, for me, is important,” said Chadwick Anderson, a Jamaican living in the North American country.

“But over the years I have seen the price move where chicken is sometimes cheaper than yam and so we are forced to make realistic choices at the supermarket that are sometimes driven by the budget.”

According to the recently published Economic and Social Survey Jamaica (ESSJ), Jamaica earned US$40.8 million or roughly J$6.7 billion from the export of yam in 2023. The earnings were a 16.5 per cent jump over 2022.

There are 28,000 yam farmers across Jamaica, according to Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce that promotes business opportunities in export and investment. Only 21 per cent of the 195,000 tonnes of the yellow yam produced by Jamaica is exported, the ESSJ data show.

Arguing that they have been left with a major recovery price tag, the Litchfield, south Trelawny-based farmers, who are arguing for the increase, told The Gleaner that they believe an increase in the yam prices will offset the damage they incurred during the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl.

The Gleaner understands that, since the hurricane, yam prices have increased to $40,000 per 100 pounds. However, according to yam farmer Anthony Hanson, it was hovering in the region of $35,000 for sometime.

“The only way we can continue doing this is if we get more money so we can help ourselves buy more yam sticks, and more fertiliser,” said Hanson.

TRICKY SITUATION

However, Anderson told The Gleaner that he believes consumers in the overseas markets are already paying a hefty price to “stay connected to their home country”. According to him, yellow yams are currently priced at $4.99 in his local Ottawa supermarkets. Because of the price, he has been forced to substitute the delicious local yellow yam with other starchy produce.

“It puts us in a tricky situation. I was in the supermarket a couple days ago and I saw someone older than myself turning over the yams trying to find a ‘likkle’ bump to buy. It is difficult to have soup without yam, but are we going to $7 for a pound if they [increase the cost]?” said Anderson.

On the contrary, business operator Sandra Francis, told The Gleaner that it has been a financially humbling situation trying to supply imported yellow yams at the restaurant and supermarket she operates with her husband, Peter, who operates Carib Farm Trading, an export company.

“It was unaffordable before the increase, now it’s even worse. The margin for restaurants is so low, we look for lower price yams like the African yam. Either that or we don’t use yams at all,” said Sandra.

The couple operate a Jamaican restaurant in Montreal (Canada) called Carib Patties. They also directly export their produce, which are supplied in the restaurant and their supermarket Marche Me. While he sang praises of the Jamaican produced tuber, Peter said they have been forced to purchase other products to supply their businesses.

He further told The Gleaner that an increase in the price associated with Jamaican yams might negatively impact the market.

“I think the Jamaican yam is very unique and it’s a very delicious product. There is also none of its kind in the world, but when it gets too expensive, I think people forego eating that yam and eat the white yam from somewhere else,” said Peter. “They have yam from Ghana selling for $2 a pound, so people eat that yam until yellow yam goes down. So that is a serious issue.”

NOT FEASIBLE

In the meantime, Peter explained that, from an exporter’s standpoint, an increase in the yam prices will gravely affect the way he operates his business. He shared that he currently transports the produce by aircraft as shipping to Canada may take weeks.

“If I send it by container, by the time it gets to me, three weeks would have passed, and the yam would be spoiled. It’s not possible,” he explained.

“In my case, I buy the yam for whatever they’re selling it for, I have to transport it to the airport and then I have to pay [my] broker. There’s an airline port fee, that is quite hefty, depending on the weight, so by the time you mark it up, it’s like $4.50 a pound. It’s not feasible,” he said.

With Hurricane Beryl leaving major damage across St Elizabeth, Manchester and Trelawny, the local agriculture sector is currently in rebuild mode. Agriculture Minister Floyd Green told Parliament that assessments indicate that the sector incurred more than $4.7 billion in losses from the category-4 hurricane, which swept across Jamaica’s south coast on July 3. He further shared that approximately 1,670 hectares of tuber crops such as yams and cassava, estimated $524 million, were lost.

Green subsequently told The Gleaner that yam farmers will soon begin to see great benefits coming their way through the ministry’s New FACE of Food campaign. The campaign is geared towards driving food security, agribusiness development, climate-change technologies, and export expansion. At the same time, Peter (Francis) told The Gleaner that this level of governmental support is needed to assist farmers and further dictate the market prices for the crop.

“The bigger issue is the role that the government or government agencies play in the process. That’s the key. I think the government or other agencies have a role to play to either providing incentives for the farmers to plant yams all year round or help to alleviate the costs,” he said.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com