By March 2015, Trinity, St Mary, Jamaica, will have a new banana factory.
General Manager of the All Island Banana Growers Association (AIBGA), Donald Elvey, made the announcement while addressing stakeholders at a ceremony held recently at the Trinity Farm Supply Outlet, in the parish.
Elvey noted that some $800 million worth of banana products are imported into Jamaica annually. He said that the factory, which will be constructed by the AIBGA at a cost of 200,000 Euro with funding from the European Union, will process up to 50,000 pounds of banana and plantain weekly.
In addition to chips, he said, the factory will also produce flour, pancake mixes and juices and will provide direct employment for 24 people.
Meanwhile Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, J C Hutchinson, commended AIBGA on its initiative and reiterated the importance of Jamaica increasing value chain production, stating that “to be competitive, we have to move up the value chain” and could no longer concentrate on producing only primary products.
