Reduction in Prices for Vegetables

As the country’s agricultural sector continues to recover from last year’s adverse weather conditions, consumers are seeing a reduction in prices for produce, particularly vegetables.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, provided the update on the sector performance in a statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (February 4).

“The data speaks for itself. Nearly 70 per cent of vegetables saw price reductions, some by as much as 66 per cent. Among the most notable are green sweet pepper down 66 per cent in January; iceberg lettuce down 44 per cent in January; salad tomato down 40 per cent; pak choi down 22 per cent; and carrots down 33 per cent,” he said.

Other vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, romaine lettuce, string beans and cabbage also recorded price drops ranging from nine per cent to 23 per cent.

Minister Green noted that there are some fruit lines that continue to be challenged based on the weather patterns, and these include melon and cantaloupe.

“However, thankfully, we are seeing an earlier-than-projected recovery of our banana farmers. In fact, we had earmarked recovery nine months from the Hurricane Beryl weather event,” he said.

“Remember about 70 per cent of our banana crop was completely destroyed, but we are now seeing the re-emergence of ripe banana. In fact, plantain prices declined by seven per cent in January,” he pointed out.

Minister Green noted that the recovery is not happening by chance, but it is the result of deliberate action by the Government to support farmers to build back stronger.

He commended the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Banana Board and other agencies that have been working to provide critical inputs needed to rebuild production capacity and mitigate losses.

“While adverse weather conditions affected supply over the past year, our interventions have ensured that price surges were kept under control and that stabilisation has come faster than previous years. We will continue working closely with our farmers to strengthen food security, support production, and keep prices manageable for all Jamaicans,” Mr. Green said.