Jamaica's agricultural industry grew by estimated 2.7% in Q2

 

Jamaica's agricultural industry grew by an estimated 2.7 per cent in the second quarter.

 

Director General at the Planning Institute of Jamaica Dr. Wayne Henry says growth for the April to June period was supported by more favourable weather conditions. 

 

This contributed to an increase in output per hectare and a 2.4 per cent expansion in the area of domestic crops reaped. 

 

"The performance of the industry was due to a 3.8 per cent growth in the output of other agricultural crops. Increased production was recorded in eight of the nine crop groups, including potatoes, up 9.6 per cent, yams, up 6 per cent, vegetables up 4.2 per cent, cereals up 12.6 per cent, and legumes up 11.5 per cent, which largely affected higher production of sugarcane, up 22.6 per cent, and banana up 2.4 per cent," he reported.

 

Dr. Henry said the production of traditional export crops increased by 6.4 per cent.

 

"These increases were sufficient to outweigh an estimated 15. per cent decline in cocoa production. However, animal farming was estimated to have contracted by 2.1 per cent, attributed to a decline in broiler meat production of 2.8 per cent," he said.