Jamaica Broilers has ‘significant inventory of chicken’
Published:Friday | November 7, 2025 | 12:06 AMLuke Douglas/Senior Business Reporter
Jamaica Broilers Group Limited (JBG) says it has a significant inventory of chicken products and restarted distribution on October 31, three days after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
Ian Parsard, JBG’s senior vice-president of finance and corporate planning, said there was minimal damage to the company’s operations, including to its contract farmers.
“Our key operations were supported by standby power generation, with the public utility being restored to all major operating locations by Saturday, November 1. JBG restarted all operations, including processing of chicken, on Friday, October 31,” Parsard said.
Efforts to get a comment from Caribbean Broilers, the No. 2 poultry group, were unsuccessful.
The total economic contribution of Jamaica’s poultry industry has been estimated at $310 billion, with a capacity to meet 88 per cent of local demand, according to a study done by Ernst & Young on behalf of the Caribbean Poultry Association.
While the chicken market is dominated by the two big players, with JBG being the largest, the contribution of small poultry farmers to the industry has been put at 40 per cent.
In the meantime, Jamaica Broilers said it would be offering relief to communities hardest hit by Melissa, particularly in western Jamaica.
The group also said its subsidiary company, Hi-Pro, is collaborating with the Jamaica Egg Farmers Association, the Jamaica Pig Farmers Association, the Small Ruminants Association of Jamaica, and the Jamaica Agricultural Society, among other groups, to assess hurricane impacts and develop a targeted recovery plan for the agricultural sector.
Hi-Pro distributes baby chicks, animal feeds, and inputs for the agriculture sector.