JEFE to Spend $35 Million this Fiscal Year

Jamaica Exotic Flavours and Essences Company Limited (JEFE) is expected to spend a total of $35 million this fiscal, as the company works to develop a viable local flavour industry.
This was disclosed in a document tabled in the House of Representatives this week by the Minister of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce, Phillip Paulwell.
The 90 per cent government-owned company, whose core function is to produce internationally accepted flavours, essences and purees from Jamaica’s rich agricultural base, expects to release at least one previously tested product to the market this financial year.
Other imperatives for 2007/08 include the acquisition and installation of pre-processing equipment to support the Spinning Cone Column (SCC) for commercial production levels. The SCC is a flavour extraction technology, which was acquired from its Australian developer, Flavourtech last year.
Once the technology is put into operation, the company expects to achieve commercial production levels in the range of 6, 000 to 22, 500 kilograms weekly by the end of March 2008.
JEFE will also continue research and development work on products requested by clients, and plans to strengthen human resources by employing an SCC operator and a marketing representative.
JEFE, which was established in 2004, manages and operates a flavour extraction plant in Bull Savanna, St. Elizabeth.
The company spent $ 8.8 million in the last financial year to commission into service the SCC and train key staff in its operation; conduct trial production runs; and purchase additional pre-processing equipment.