Divestment of the commercial assets of Jamaica's Cocoa Industry has begun.
Acting Agriculture Minister, Derrick Kellier recently announced that the Development Bank of Jamaica is overseeing the divestment which is expected to be completed shortly.
The divestment of the Cocoa industry follows that of the Coffee Industry which was completed last year with the sale of Government-owned Wallenford Coffee Company.
Meanwhile,there are plans to combine the Coffee, Cocoa and Coconut Boards as well as the Export Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to form one regulatory agency.
Kellier said Cabinet has approved the move and the new agency will be referred to as the Agriculture Commodities Regulatory Agency.
He said drafting instructions for the ACRA Act have been approved, with a view to having this completed by the end of the financial year.
The amalgamation of the Cocoa and Coffee Industry Boards is part of the Ministry's restructuring initiatives to further strengthen the industry by cutting costs and increasing productivity.
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