Ripe bananas produced by the Jamaica Producers Group on display in this June 2007 Gleaner photo. - File

Jamaica Producers (JP) says it has not totally turned its back on banana exports, but indications are its return to the market would be a long shot.

On Thursday, JP chairman Charles Johnston said the company would return to exports if the frequency of storms were to change, specifically, that they happen no more frequently than once in a decade.

The company's banana business has been the victim of major storms, almost annually, since 2004.

The decision to exit the export market in the United Kingdom was made after Hurricane Gustav took out fields the company had rebuilt after Hurricane Dean.

"This decision had to be made because of the weather pattern that has changed in Jamaica," said Johnston, speaking at the banquet that honoured his contribution to Jamaican business.

Resuming export

"And believe me, if the weather goes back to us having a hurricane every 10 years, we will be resuming export of bananas from Jamaica."

Jamaica has felt the brunt of many hurricanes since the 1950s, starting with Hurricane Charlie.

The next big hit was Hurricane Ivan in 1988, almost four decades later.

Hurricane Ivan arrived 16 years later in 2004, and it has been downhill from there - Wilma and Emily in 2005, Dean in 2007 and Gustav last year.

In short, the big storms and hurricanes have been occurring with increasing frequency.

It was that reality that led Jamaica Producers last month to announce that it would end banana production in Jamaica for export to the United Kingdom.

Banana had become a lossmaker for the company and the reality was that in the last three to four years, the company had spent more time rehabilitating devastated fields than actual trading of the fruit overseas.

Insurance-backed funds

Indeed, when Dean hit, the company had to be persuaded by Government - with the sweetener of insurance-backed funds - to resume production.

The company had just re-entered the export market when Gustav hit in August, devastating its banana operation, Eastern Banana Estates Limited (EBEL), in St Thomas.

A month later, JP, having hinted that the decision was coming, said it would exit the UK export market.

That decision meant the shutdown of EBEL.

On Friday, 400 workers there were laid off as the company finalised plans.

Johnston said it was not the easiest of decisions to make.

JP is the dominant banana producer in Jamaica whose farms have meant economic sustenance for rural workers in St Thomas and St Mary.

"It is, therefore, very painful for me to have to announce the cessation of banana exports from Jamaica by Jamaica Producers," said the JP chairman. "It is also very painful because of the loss of the jobs that results form the closure of the farm in St Thomas."

The company said it would now concentrate on growing less-vulnerable crops, such as cassava and breadfruit, for the snack segment of its operations.

Certified

JP's banana operation was certified under the Fair Trade brand, which allowed the company to sell its fruit at a premium.

Fair Trade certification says that the company has sound environmental practices and good working conditions.

"We will in the future be looking to see how we can process other products with the Fair Trade registration," Johnston said.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com