New regulations governing locally sold coffee now in place

Industry Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Karl Samuda has announced that regulations are now in place that will ensure that all coffee that is imported, packaged and sold locally will be mixed with Jamaican green beans.

According to Samuda, when persons import coffee, mix it with cheap imported beans and sell that product to hotels as coffee that is processed and packaged in Jamaica, it cheapens and destroys the reputation of the Jamaican coffee brand.

The Coffee Industry (Amendment Regulations 2017) came into effect on November 15, 2017. Under these regulations, all imported coffee that is packaged and sold in Jamaica must include at least 20 per cent Jamaican Coffee.

Minister Samuda, who has been encouraging coffee farmers to increase their productivity, says the regulations should serve as encouragement to produce more High Mountain Coffee.

The Agriculture Minister also warned against breaching the regulations, which come with hefty fines or a term of imprisonment. 

The Agriculture Minister was speaking Sunday, while addressing farmers at the inaugural Coffee Industry Symposium at the Chinese Benevolent Association.