Economy in the best condition, says Levy

The Jamaican economy is enjoying unprecedented growth and is poised for further development, according to Christopher Levy, group president and chief executive officer of the Jamaica Broilers Group.

Levy’s comments came after a tour and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expansion of the Best Dressed Chicken Hatchery at Cumberland in Portmore, St Catherine, yesterday.

“The growth of Jamaica is at a very important point. Our economy is in the best condition we’ve seen, any of us here. We need to recognise that and it is an opportunity, it is an inflection point for us, as a nation, as an industry, to say we are going to build Jamaica. We are going to invest in the communities of Jamaica, whatever that takes because we are at a very important point in our nation and we need to recognise that that takes a different attitude and head space,” Levy told the function.

He explained that the Group had spent roughly $200 million on expanding the facility which was previously owned by the now defunct Jamaican Livestock Association and which had a 25,000 square-foot hatchery with a capacity to produce 625,000 chicks per month, or 7.5 million per year. The expansion has resulted in a 70 per cent capacity increase for hatching or table eggs, as needs dictate. The net effect of that investment is that the country can have greater confidence in the poultry sector to cope with fluctuations in the market, according to the Group CEO.

In the meantime, Dave Foreman, vice president of the Best Dressed Chicken Division, pointed out that the investment was in response to the growing demand for poultry.

“We have seen that demand coming, especially out of the pandemic, and the demand has taken a new turn for the better,” he admitted.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr noted that is now the Jamaica that was envisaged 20 years ago when many people were fleeing the island.

“The reason they went away is because they were not assured that the country was going in a direction that would settle their minds in terms of just the economic support they needed to take care of their families. Finally, we are seeing around that corner and it is important that we stay on course for this is the time that you are most fragile, when you can be most easily impacted to divert because staying on course is not easy. It requires bold action and decisions that sometimes do not suit the status quo.”