Jamaicans less piggish about pork than average consumer

Consumption of pork has increased by almost 20 per cent since Caribbean Broilers embarked on a campaign five years ago to boost the quality and enhance supply of the meat, but Jamaicans still eat far less of the protein than the average person worldwide.

Pork is the meat most consumed around the world, with per capita consumption of more than 40 kilograms, but in Jamaica the per capita consumption is only six kilograms, according to corporate affairs manager at Caribbean Broilers, Dr Keith Amiel.

"We found this to be not a demand curve, but a supply curve," said Amiel, speaking with Wednesday Business as the company hosted new Agriculture Minister Robert Montague on a tour of its facilities, including the Newport Feed Mill at Myers Wharf, Newport East, and Newport Genetics, a pig-rearing facility at the Bodles Research Station in Old Harbour, St Catherine.

Local pigs normally grow to an average of 140 pounds in six months, but with the boost from Newport Genetics they now reach on average 280 pounds within the same period, using the same amount of feed, he said.

Shift in preferences

Amiel said that in the last few years, Caribbean Broilers has seen a shift in the population preferences to animal protein not just towards pork, but in the form of "broiler meat, eggs, fish, and there is a continued love of goat meat and beef in the form of the patty industry, which feeds a high percentage of the population".

Noting his objection to the Government's proposal to lower the common external tariff on imported meats, the corporate affairs executive said "Our belief is that much of that can be produced locally, making the population self-sufficient while providing employment."

Newport Genetics, a core breeding facility to improve pig rearing across the island, was established as a result of a restructuring of the industry under former agriculture minister Roger Clarke at a time when the sector appeared to be dying.

Pigs were sourced from Canada, the major exporter of pigs worldwide, to replace Jamaica's herd by getting rid of "the old boars" and replacing them with the new breed developed at Newport Genetics.

Amiel, who headed a committee which examined restructuring of the sector, said the major problem was a matter of genetics and not what was generally believed - too many producers leading to oversupply, or too few producers leading to scarcity and high prices.

Because of inbreeding over a long time, pigs had deteriorated in size and were incapable of producing the quality meat required by the market. As a result, bacon, ham, frankfurters and other sausages produced for hotels and supermarkets were manufactured using imported pork.

Now, Newport Genetics collects from 30 boars thrice weekly at an artificial insemination barn. The semen - sold to pig farmers for between J$2,000 and J$3,000 - is used to inseminate pigs around the island.

Last year, Jamaica produced almost 8.0 million kilograms of pork, of which 1.3 million kilogram were edible offal, according to data supplied by the Agricultural Marketing Information Division of Ministry of Agriculture. This compares with imported pork totalling 1.9 million kg, of which 1.3 million kg were edible offal.

mcpherse.thompson@gleanerjm.com