With Jamaica supplying less than one per cent of the global castor oil market, industry experts are calling for greater recognition of the viability of the product and the implementation of strategies that will increase production and satisfy demand.
According to Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr, the industry is worth over US$100 million and could contribute significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP), if local production improves and the export market is sustained.
Speaking at the Jamaica Bauxite Institute’s (JBI) Castor Bean Forum, themed, ‘Black castor oil, liquid gold untapped’, at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville on Wednesday, March 15, Charles Jr said the session represents the kind of strategic partnership that is needed in agriculture, to more significantly tap into the castor oil industry.
“It is essential to understand how to do it, to utilise every acre of land, to find the best ways to extend the range of products, to find and refine the processing, to utilise research to our standard … What you are doing here today will be a greater part of the agriculture and fisheries contribution to GDP,” Charles said.
The JBI, which is in the process of rolling out its castor oil pilot project that will involve the cultivation and processing of castor beans in Calderwood, St. Ann, will be focusing on fostering a merger of the cottage industry, linking farmers to processors and buyers.
But with a vision of creating an economically viable agriculture-based industry from not only the castor seeds, but the entire plant, president of the Jamaica Castor Industry Association (JCIA), Courtney Haughton, indicated that production has to be increased by up to 100 per cent.
“Jamaica has never exported US$500,000 worth of castor oil. It means that 99.99 per cent of that global market is taken up by fake products … Cheap oil bought from India, China with charcoal added to it and labelled product of Jamaica ... The only way we can claw back what is ours is if we secure our intellectual property rights,” he said.
SECURED MARKET ACCESS
Haughton said further that with no standard in the global market that recognises authentic Jamaica black castor oil, research is now being done to ensure quality assurance through the Bureau of Standards, among other entities for market integrity, as well as capacity-building initiatives for farmers and processors.
Having inked several strategic partnerships with local and international bodies, Haughton encouraged castor oil farmers and processors to take advantage of the offerings for secured market access.
“I get approximately 10 calls per day from our partner JAMPRO (Jamaica Promotions Corporation) with persons from overseas who want to get in touch with people who can produce large volumes, container loads, 55 gallon drums of castor oil, but I cannot find anyone.”
The JCIA head said the country in 2014 exported US$185,000 worth of castor oil and has been on a downward trajectory since then.
“This is into market place with a value of over US$100 million …We need to do something about that because the trend is worrying …Every single part of the plant has economic value and we need to tap into it, because it is gold,” Haughton said.
He added. “Our industry has been built on wild harvesting and no industry can grow and sustain (itself) with that method. We must get into organised, large-scale seed production. There are many successful models that we can tap into. I am very glad that JBI has hosted this forum which shows their commitment to find meaningful ways to make lands available to our farmers.”
Charles earlier mentioned that with a 19-per-cent budget increase, greater investment in farmers can now be done, while finding ways to build public-private partnerships for sustainability.
“Last year, we received less than two per cent of the budget and we were able to provide almost eight per cent to GDP. Investing in agriculture, (and) in our farmers makes sense. I am happy we have received more this year for us to push agriculture. (It is) a 19 per cent increase from the year before, and we will be calling for more,” he said.
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