Keeble Munn (centre), a former agriculture minister, touts Senator Norman Grant (left), general manager of the Jablum/Mavis Bank Central Factory Group, on his company's newest product: 'Jablum Coffee Beverage'. At right is Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke. They were attending the launch of the product at Cuddyz in New Kingston on Tuesday.
-Damion Mitchell
FOUR MONTHS after introducing its instant coffee on the local and foreign markets, Jablum has launched another new product the Jablum Coffee Beverage.
It was launched on Tuesday during a function at Cuddyz in New Kingston.
"Our team at Jablum, with the assistance of beverage experts locally and overseas, has spent a lot of time on the product's development and testing and we feel confident that this first product is one with a wide acceptance across Jamaica and the wide world," said Senator Norman Grant, general manager of Jablum/Mavis Bank Central Factory (MBCF) Group.
SATISFYING DEMANDS
He said the company was committed to satisfying the demands of the public for diversified coffee products, which would result in increased earnings for farmers of Blue Mountain Coffee who supply his factory with coffee beans.
"This product also places into the hand of the average consumer, a Jamaican product which we hope will create linkages for our regular coffee and other related products," he said.
Eighty per cent of all coffee beans produced by the MBCF are exported, with Japan being the company's largest buyer, purchasing some 75 per cent annually while the United States and Europe account for 20 per cent and 5 per cent of sales respectively.
And Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke said although Jamaica enjoyed a "pride of place" for many of the country's agricultural produce, enough companies were not processing them into readily consumable products.
"Today Jablum strides out in this direction and I feel a strong sense of goodwill," he said.
He continued that agro-processing must be the practice to guarantee Jamaica's prosperity. "The fight for quotas and trade restrictions continues but everyday the ball moves as we continue to fight to maintain our share in the global world but in the final analysis, this kind of creation can and must be the solution to our long-term survival," the agriculture minister said.
