THE COUNTRY has often felt itself to be at the receiving end of the international fast food franchises operating here. Complaints have been made that we function mainly as a "supplier" of consumers of other products generated elsewhere and merely packaged here by low-skilled, low-paid labour. That assessment is, of course, not quite the whole truth.
Now the country's leading supplier of chicken, beef and fish, Jamaica Broilers, has landed a major contract to supply fish fillet for Burger King's "Big Fish" sandwich. And this not just for the Jamaican operations of the fast food giant, but worldwide.
The product has had to pass through rigorous testing to ensure that it satisfies the demanding standards of the international market. And it has passed.
Jamaica Broilers has led the way in commercial aquaculture after establishing successful chicken and beef production operations and its present good fortune can be regarded as the fruit of investments in Research and Development, in appropriate technology and in people.
The Burger King contract is good news for smaller producers of freshwater fish also. Despite a $45 million dollar expansion, Jamaica Broilers will not be able to supply the demand on its own. Company management is already floating the prospect of joint venture operations. The system of contract farming is already well established and has worked reasonably well in poultry production. A transfer to fish should be feasible.
Jamaican agriculture is in the doldrums. A fresh stimulus can best come from the non-traditional sub-sector. The recent approval of ackee exports by the US Government is one such new opportunity, which is now joined by fish for Burger King.
The challenge of the future is to focus on supplying niche markets with high-quality non-traditional products meeting the most rigorous international standards. The fish success story says we can.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
