PEPPER PICKLE
Gray’s burnt by Beryl; layoffs, millions in losses loom amid power outage
Published:Thursday | July 11, 2024 | 12:11 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Gray’s Pepper Products, a manufacturing company in Westmoreland, says if electricity is not restored, it stands to lose millions in raw material and international contracts in Canada and the United States.
Gray’s Pepper Products, located in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, is facing the risk of losing millions in raw materials and international contracts in Canada and the United States amid a lengthy power outage after the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
“I think some of these things maybe we’ll have to dump,” Managing Director Andrew Gray told The Gleaner, noting that several barrels of crushed Scotch bonnet pepper sitting in his storeroom were prepared for export less than 24 hours ahead of the passage of Category 4 storm.
Gray said he has not been able to do any business following the hurricane and that while he was expecting a disruption in electricity, he did not anticipate such a lengthy delay in having the power restored so he has not been able to power up his manufacturing plant.
Gray revealed that his internal backup supply of solar energy and a generator had failed, and he has not been able to source the broken generator parts in Jamaica.
“We are solely reliant on JPS (the Jamaica Public Service Company). Since the hurricane, we have not been able to do any production at all. The workers literally come in every day. We sit down and wait because every time we speak to someone from JPS they say tomorrow, and tomorrow just never comes. They keep moving the goalpost,” said Gray.
He said that when the hurricane struck, his team was able to produce a half container load of pepper for export to Canada, but it is still sitting there.
“My main concern is loss of business and falling behind because, with our distributors abroad, they are not concerned about the hurricane; they just want the product. And if they don’t get it, they go somewhere else,” Gray noted.
He said that if electricity is not restored to his over-50-year-old manufacturing business, it will have serious implications for the business and over 30 production staff.
“After this Friday, we’ll have to lay off our staff,” Gray said. “A lot of revenue would have been lost and it will be out of pocket for us because we have to pay our staff, especially in this period where everybody has hardship.”
He said that a lot of pepper farmers have been severely impacted by Beryl, with their farms devastated, and they are now seeking buyers.
“The Ministry [of Agriculture] has been calling, wanting to know if we can take any of the produce from these farmers because a lot of stuff has blown down and they have to try and salvage, but we are unable to help them,” Gray told The Gleaner.
In the meantime, electricity has returned to some sections of Westmoreland, including the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital on Barracks Road.
There are calls for the JPS to seek external help to repair broken poles and damaged wires to speed up the service restoration.
“At this point, we believe it is a plausible solution because JPS can’t give a definite timeline for any area to which restoration is to take place,” said Moses Chybar, president of the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He argued that business leaders are being held hostage by the country’s light and power company as they continue to buckle under the stress of not having electricity and losing their frozen products.
“We are, in a sense, hostages right now because we are being forced to wait until they are able to restore electricity,” said Chybar.
“We are saying to JPS, ‘Right now, you don’t have the capacity to respond swiftly and to restore power, so we are asking you to consider this option’,” he said.