Carib Scope

标签： Jamaica

牙买加

  • Cruise ship caution

    Cruise ship caution

    Against the backdrop of a recent hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship off West Africa that has left three people dead, Jamaica’s Ministry of Health has moved quickly to reassure the public that robust precautionary measures are in place to block the virus from reaching the country’s borders.

    With Jamaica long established as a major regional hub for international cruise shipping, authorities have identified vessel arrivals as the highest priority point of entry for enhanced monitoring. Speaking at a post-Cabinet media briefing Wednesday, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie outlined the government’s stepped-up vigilance, noting that while the World Health Organization (WHO) currently assesses the risk of global hantavirus spread as low, the island nation is leaving no room for complacency.

    “WHO’s current assessment pegs global transmission risk at low, but we are taking every possible step to stop the virus from entering Jamaica, especially through our cruise ports,” Bisasor-McKenzie said. “Given our status as a core cruise shipping hub, boosting our vigilance is a logical, necessary precaution.”

    Public health protocols for incoming cruise vessels have been strengthened around three core pillars: early detection, rapid clinical intervention, and minimizing public exposure risk. All cruise ships bound for Jamaican ports are already required to submit a full maritime declaration of health before docking, which lists any cases of illness on board during the voyage. Under the new enhanced protocols, local health officials will conduct more rigorous reviews of these pre-arrival reports, followed by on-board inspections to verify the information provided before clearance is granted.

    Bisasor-McKenzie also confirmed that all port health and environmental teams have completed updated sensitization training on hantavirus identification and response protocols, shifting the country’s response from reactive monitoring to proactive inspection.

    To address potential risks from the virus’s natural reservoir, Jamaican veterinary and environmental health authorities have already completed nationwide surveys of rodent populations, the primary reservoir for hantavirus, and found no evidence of the virus circulating among local rodent communities.
    Bisasor-McKenzie further explained key clinical facts about hantavirus to inform the public: the virus causes two life-threatening syndromes in humans, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Initial infection presents with fever, before progressing to severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and potentially fatal shock. Symptoms develop between one and eight weeks after exposure, most commonly within a two-to-four-week window. The virus is primarily spread to humans through contact with infected rodents’ urine, feces or saliva. While human-to-human transmission is extremely rare, the Andes virus strain circulating in South America has been documented to spread between people through close contact with infected respiratory droplets or saliva.

    On testing capacity, Bisasor-McKenzie confirmed that Jamaica does not currently have on-island facilities to process hantavirus tests, but has established a reliable testing pathway through the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago. Recent upgrades to CARPHA’s sample transport network have cut delivery times and improved reliability for Jamaican samples, and the ministry is also in ongoing discussions with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to secure additional testing partnerships with global collaborating centers.

    The heightened precautions come as eight cases of hantavirus – three confirmed, five suspected – have been reported on the cruise ship MV Hondius, currently anchored off the coast of West Africa, with three fatalities already recorded.

  • Motorists and pedestrians urged to obey new traffic lights at Fairfield intersection

    Motorists and pedestrians urged to obey new traffic lights at Fairfield intersection

    ST JAMES, JAMAICA – A brand-new traffic signal infrastructure has officially launched operations at the Fairfield Road and Megabyte Drive intersection, prompting local transportation authorities to issue a public call for all road users to comply with the new rules of the road. The Jamaica National Works Agency (NWA) flipped the switch to activate the signals on Thursday morning, marking the completion of a joint safety project that promises to transform conditions for pedestrians and motorists traveling through this high-traffic corridor.

    With the new system now fully functional, NWA officials are stressing the critical importance of following signal instructions to prevent accidents and maximize the public safety benefits of the investment. Janel Ricketts, Community Relations Officer for the NWA’s Western Region, shared details of the rollout with Observer Online, emphasizing that compliance is key to unlocking the full value of the new infrastructure.

    Ricketts specifically highlighted the system’s pedestrian-focused features, designed to address longstanding safety challenges for people crossing the busy corridor. Unlike traditional fixed-timing signals, the intersection is equipped with a pedestrian-actuated signal that allows walkers to request a crossing window directly. Ricketts outlined the simple process for pedestrians: press the activation button on the signal pole, wait for the dedicated “walk” indicator to illuminate, then cross the roadway safely.

    The $18.4 million project was developed as a collaborative venture between the NWA and Barnett Tech Park Limited, a major commercial hub in the area that hosts a cluster of business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies and multiple other commercial operations. The intersection sees heavy daily foot and vehicle traffic from workers, visitors and local residents, making improved safety a long-sought priority for the community. Officials from both partners noted that the project was tailored to address the specific traffic needs of the growing commercial district, delivering a targeted solution that will protect all road users moving through the area.

    As the system enters its first days of operation, the NWA is renewing its appeal to all pedestrians and motorists to adjust their travel habits to align with the new infrastructure. By following the posted signal rules, road users can help reduce collision risks and make the corridor safer for everyone who relies on it daily.

  • EU monitor says sea temperatures near all-time highs as El Nino looms

    EU monitor says sea temperatures near all-time highs as El Nino looms

    PARIS, France (AFP) — Leading European climate researchers have issued an updated alert that global ocean surface temperatures are rapidly approaching all-time record levels, as early indicators confirm the climate system is shifting toward an impending El Nino event that could push global heat to unprecedented new heights.

    Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which manages the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, confirmed that recent sea surface temperature (SST) readings are already just a fraction below the 2024 record, the hottest year documented to date. She projects that the monthly global average for May is on track to break its own existing temperature record, and it will likely only take a matter of days before daily SST readings return to uncharted record territory.

    Copernicus’ April climate bulletin shows that daily ocean temperatures “gradually inched” toward near-record levels through last month, a clear signal of the ongoing transition into El Nino conditions that forecasters predict will solidify in the coming months. April’s overall global ocean temperature ranked as the second-warmest ever measured, with record-breaking marine heatwaves already stretching across the swathe of ocean from the tropical Pacific to the western coast of the United States.

    The World Meteorological Organization previously projected that El Nino conditions could develop as early as the May-to-July window this year. A naturally occurring phase of the Pacific Ocean’s climate cycle driven by shifts in sea surface temperatures and trade winds, El Nino reshapes weather patterns across the globe, raising the probability of extreme events including severe droughts, intense heavy rainfall and other disruptive climate disasters.

    Crucially, El Nino adds extra atmospheric heat to a planet already warmed to dangerous levels by centuries of fossil fuel combustion. The most recent El Nino event was a key factor that pushed 2023 to become the second-hottest year on record, followed by 2024 which claimed the top spot as the warmest year ever measured. Multiple weather agencies have forecast that the upcoming El Nino could be unusually strong, potentially matching the intensity of the powerful “super El Nino” that occurred three decades ago.

    Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist with independent research group Berkeley Earth, noted last week that a strong El Nino would substantially boost the odds that 2027 will overtake 2024 to become the hottest year recorded in human history. Burgess emphasized that it remains too early to definitively predict the coming event’s intensity, as seasonal forecasts produced during Northern Hemisphere spring are often less reliable than those made at other times of year. That said, she added that no matter how strong the event proves to be, its impacts will be impossible to ignore.

    “We’re likely to see 2027 exceed 2024 for the warmest year on record,” Burgess stated, explaining that El Nino’s maximum impact on global annual temperatures typically arrives in the calendar year after the event reaches its peak intensity.

    Copernicus’ analysis confirms that the rise in ocean temperatures across March and April confirms the shift from neutral ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) conditions to El Nino is already underway. Climate researchers stress that El Nino alone is not the root cause of the extraordinary ocean warming and its harmful knock-on effects, which include mass coral bleaching and widespread persistent marine heatwaves.

    The current El Nino transition is unfolding against the long-term backdrop of human-caused global warming driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions. Earth’s oceans have absorbed roughly 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by human activity, making marine warming one of the clearest measurable indicators of ongoing climate change.

    Alongside ocean warming, Copernicus reported that April 2025 ranked as the third-hottest April for global land and ocean surface temperatures combined, coming in 1.43 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline average measured between 1850 and 1900 — a threshold widely used to track progress toward global climate targets. Arctic sea ice extent remained near record lows for the month of April, while variable seasonal conditions across Europe have set the stage for a hotter, drier than average summer with elevated risk of drought and wildfire.

    “We just keep seeing extremes. Every month we have more data that the climate change impact is creating these extreme events,” Burgess said.

  • No sideshows

    No sideshows

    In a candid address at the Jamaica Observer Press Club this Wednesday, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, former Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and current senior advisor to the global Repair Campaign, issued a sharp rebuke of diversionary arguments meant to undermine the Caribbean’s decades-long push for reparatory justice for the atrocities of transatlantic slavery and colonial rule.

    Gonsalves centerd his remarks on pushing back against growing attempts by critics to shift the narrative of the reparation movement toward African involvement in the slave trade, framing these talking points as deliberate sideshows designed to draw focus away from the systematic role European governments played in building, expanding and profiting from centuries of human trafficking and exploitation. “One of the amazing things that persons who don’t want to confront reparation do is try to keep our minds from the central focus, and take us to sideshows, to distractions,” Gonsalves told attendees. “We have to be careful that we do not fall prey to distractions and sideshows. We have to keep our minds on the main event.”

    The veteran Caribbean politician outlined the core structural reality that underpins the reparation campaign, detailing how European state institutions actively orchestrated every stage of the transatlantic slave trade: from encouraging African groups to capture enslaved people, to building coastal forts to detain captives, to transporting them across the Atlantic on European ships, and finally selling them to work on exploitative colonial plantations across the Caribbean. This state-backed system of exploitation generated unprecedented wealth for European powers, while leaving lasting damage to Caribbean societies that persists to this day.

    Gonsalves also pushed back against a second common counterargument: that post-colonial development aid and trade concessions from former colonial powers like Britain amount to sufficient compensation for the harms of slavery. He rejected this claim outright, noting that any support the Caribbean has received is minuscule when measured against the trillions in wealth extracted from the region over centuries of colonial rule.

    To illustrate his point, Gonsalves cited the post-World War II preferential trade deal for Caribbean banana exports to Britain. Far from an act of altruism, he explained, the arrangement was rooted entirely in Britain’s own economic self-interest: after the war, Britain lacked enough US dollars to purchase bananas from Latin American producers, so it turned to its former Caribbean colonies to meet domestic demand. When Britain joined the European single market decades later, the preferential terms were revoked, leaving Caribbean producers to bear the economic costs. “It’s true we benefited, but they benefited too,” Gonsalves said, emphasizing that even these limited gains cannot offset the centuries of uncompensated exploitation.

    Beyond refuting counterarguments, Gonsalves redefined the framing of the reparation movement itself, rejecting attempts to dismiss it as a purely historical debate. Instead, he positioned the quest for reparation as a pressing modern human rights issue, aligned with a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed this past March that formally designated slavery as “the gravest of crimes against humanity.”

    “Secondly, the quest for reparation, in a practical sense, is meant to repair the many-sided legacies of underdevelopment, which can be sourced directly to native genocide and the enslavement of African bodies,” he added. Gonsalves drew a direct line between historical exploitation and modern Caribbean development gaps, noting that formerly enslaved people were granted freedom but no access to land, capital, education or generational wealth — a stark contrast to the generous compensation the British government paid to enslavers when it abolished slavery in the 1830s.

    The Repair Campaign, the initiative Gonsalves advises, was launched in 2022 by Irish businessman Denis O’Brien. It works in formal partnership with the Caricom Reparations Commission to coordinate advocacy, build public support, and develop actionable reparatory justice plans across all 15 Caribbean Community member states. The collective campaign continues to push European former colonial powers to acknowledge the scale of their historical role in slavery and provide tangible compensation to address the intergenerational harms that shape the Caribbean today.

  • IShowSpeed arrives in Jamaica for Caribbean tour

    IShowSpeed arrives in Jamaica for Caribbean tour

    One of the internet’s most high-profile content creators, IShowSpeed — legally known as Darren Jason Watkins Jr. — has landed in Kingston, Jamaica, marking the latest stop on his wildly popular Caribbean tour, according to on-the-ground reports from Norman Manley International Airport.

    Famous for his explosive, high-octane livestreams that have captivated a global audience, the 20-year-old creator has built a massive cross-platform following, boasting more than 50 million subscribers on YouTube alone, alongside a dedicated fanbase on Twitch. His unfiltered, energetic on-camera persona has turned him into one of the fastest-growing viral personalities of the last half-decade, with regular broadcasts drawing millions of concurrent viewers.

    Local Jamaican fans have been swirling with excitement for days across social media platforms, as anticipation built ahead of the streamer’s arrival. Many shared countdown posts and travel rumors, turning the announcement of his Jamaican stop into a trending topic across the island’s online spaces.

    This Caribbean leg of IShowSpeed’s ongoing global tour is far from his first international run. Before heading to the Caribbean, the creator already completed high-energy tour stops across Africa, Europe, and Latin America, where he brought his signature on-the-ground content directly to local communities. Ahead of arriving in Jamaica, he had already visited Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, filming live content on local streets and interacting with hundreds of local fans at each stop.

    Upon arrival at Norman Manley International Airport, IShowSpeed received a warm, culturally rooted welcome from a group of Junkanoo dancers. The content creator paused his exit from the airport to join the performers for an impromptu brief dance before being escorted to his next scheduled destination, leaving fans eagerly expecting more live content from the island in the coming days.

  • Dozens remanded in custody after post-PSG match unrest

    Dozens remanded in custody after post-PSG match unrest

    In the wake of chaotic violence that erupted after Paris Saint-Germain secured their spot in the UEFA Champions League final, French law enforcement and judicial authorities have taken firm action, with nearly 100 people placed in pre-trial detention across the country. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed Thursday that 95 individuals, nine of whom are underage, are being held in custody in the French capital, with an additional 14 minors detained outside Paris following the outburst of unrest.

    The violence broke out after PSG secured a 1-1 away draw against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, locking in a 6-5 aggregate win that sent the defending champions through to the 2025 final. What was meant to be a celebratory moment for PSG supporters quickly spiraled into public disorder, with groups engaging in violent clashes, vandalism, and attacks on law enforcement.

    Authorities have outlined a range of charges against the detained individuals. Offenses include participating in an armed gathering after official orders to disperse, joining assemblies organized to coordinate violence and property damage, assaulting police officers, and setting off unauthorized fireworks. Multiple vehicles were damaged in the unrest, and a total of 11 civilians were injured – one critically, hurt by a firework explosion. Twenty-three police officers also sustained minor injuries during efforts to restore order. In total, 127 people were arrested across the Paris region, 107 of those within city limits, Interior Ministry spokesperson Laurent Nunez confirmed in an interview with CNews and Europe 1.

    For those facing the most serious charges, the legal consequences are steep: convicted offenders can face up to 10 years of prison time and fines as high as 150,000 euros. Nunez emphasized that law enforcement will not show any leniency ahead of the Champions League final, scheduled for May 30 in Budapest, where PSG will face Arsenal in a bid to defend their continental title. He warned that police will respond with equal force to any future unrest, stressing “We won’t tolerate unrest.”

    The post-violence fallout has also sparked political friction between national security officials and Paris’s new city leadership. Nunez criticized Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire for unilaterally announcing plans for a public fan zone in the capital to host supporters watching the final on May 30, saying standard pre-planning consultations with the police prefecture were skipped entirely. “Normally we talk about that a bit with the police prefect beforehand, which didn’t happen,” he noted, raising concerns about uncoordinated public event planning amid ongoing risks of fan violence.

  • Delly Ranx Better Than Before

    Delly Ranx Better Than Before

    After decades of shaping the dancehall and reggae genres, iconic veteran artist Delly Ranx is launching a transformative new chapter of his musical journey with the release of his deeply introspective solo album *Better Than Before*, distributed through House A Stars/Pure Music Productions. For the seasoned performer, the album’s title is far more than a marketing hook—it is a raw, unfiltered reflection of his decades-long personal and artistic evolution.

    “The Delly Ranx of the past and the Delly Ranx of today are entirely different people,” the artist shared in discussing the project. “This version of me understands patience, trusts the process, and holds a deeper love for the Creator than ever before. Every day, we push ourselves to grow, and that same drive is what I poured into every track of this album.”

    Blending the rhythmic roots of reggae with the vibrant energy of dancehall, the 100% solo project draws directly from Ranx’s real-life journeys, personal hardships, and unshakable spiritual foundation. The artist revealed that the entire record was written and recorded during one of the most difficult periods of his life, turning personal struggle into creative fuel. “This was one of the hardest seasons I have ever walked through,” he explained. “I had to dig deep into my core and lean entirely on the Most High for strength and guidance. This isn’t just a collection of songs—it’s survival, faith, and raw, uncut emotion laid to rhythm.”

    Crafted with production support from Vigga and a small team of key collaborators, the album carries a distinctly mature sonic and thematic identity, mirroring Ranx’s growth as a songwriter and musical storyteller. In a departure from the common industry practice of packing projects with high-profile guest features to boost streams, *Better Than Before* includes no featured artists at all. From opening notes to the final closing track, every lyric, vocal, and creative choice is authentically his. “This is 100% Delly Ranx—my thoughts, my voice, my energy from start to finish,” Ranx emphasized.

    The record touches on a range of grounded, real-world themes, from love and relationships to betrayal and personal accountability. One standout track, *Love Scam*, produced by Upsetta Records with co-writing credits between Ranx and Dubee, is already projected to strike a powerful chord with Jamaican audiences, thanks to its honest narrative rooted in real experiences.

    Beyond sharing his own story, Ranx hopes the album will challenge limiting labels within the global music industry. “I don’t want to be boxed in as just a dancehall or reggae artiste,” he said. “I simply want to be known as an artist—full stop.” At 50 years old, Ranx also aims to inspire fellow creators of all ages to keep pursuing their craft, regardless of societal expectations around age. “I’m a 50-year-old youth still making music, still growing,” he noted. “That proves that if you have the will, there is always a way. Age is never a limit.”

    Looking forward, Ranx has outlined a robust global rollout for the album, including new music videos, international press interviews, and cross-regional tours. Beyond promoting his own work, he also plans to dedicate more time to mentoring emerging Jamaican artists, passing on the wisdom he has gained over his decades-long career. For Ranx, this project is more than a new release—it is the defining turning point of his professional legacy. “I want this album to be remembered as the turning point in my career,” he shared. “Something that inspires people and shows them they can always work to become better than they were before.”

  • WATCH: Foul odour forces temporary closure of tax office in downtown Kingston

    WATCH: Foul odour forces temporary closure of tax office in downtown Kingston

    DOWNTOWN KINGSTON, Jamaica — A key government tax office in the heart of Kingston was forced to halt operations for several hours on Thursday, after an unexpected and pungent unidentifiable smell prompted an emergency evacuation of all personnel. The affected location, Tax Administration Jamaica’s King Street branch, saw employees file out of the building shortly after arriving for their morning shifts, when the strange odor was first detected by on-site staff.

    By 10:30 a.m., when local media outlet Observer Online arrived at the scene, all workers could be seen gathered across the street from the shuttered building, waiting for updates on the investigation into the smell’s origin. The Urban Development Commission, which owns the property that houses the tax office, immediately dispatched a team to conduct a full inspection of the entire structure to trace the source of the odor.

    Speaking to the media, an anonymous employee confirmed that the unusual scent had left most staff uncomfortable, noting that building management had moved quickly to launch a full assessment to pinpoint where the smell was coming from. Multiple staff members reported that the stench was most concentrated on the ground floor of the building, the public-facing level that houses cashiers who process in-person transactions for Jamaican taxpayers.

    Merris Haughton, Director of Communications for Tax Administration Jamaica, later confirmed that the out-of-abundance-of-caution closure was implemented to allow officials to test for any potential public health risks that could have been linked to the odor. Initial speculation about the source shifted quickly after the inspection, with investigators concluding the smell originated from a dead animal inside the building. The office was cleared for normal operations and reopened to both staff and the public just before midday, bringing the temporary disruption to a close.

  • NaRRA accountability call

    NaRRA accountability call

    In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s catastrophic October 2023 landfall, which caused $12.2 billion in damage and erased 56% of Jamaica’s gross domestic product, the Jamaican government established the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) to lead the country’s recovery and rebuilding effort. But a leading transparency and accountability advocate is sounding the alarm over gaps in the NaRRA legislation, warning that the same government overreach that was recently struck down by the country’s Constitutional Court could become legally enshrined if reforms are not made.

    Jeanette Calder, executive director of the Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP), laid out these concerns during a virtual address to the Kiwanis Club of Kingston on Tuesday, in a presentation titled *Trust, Power & Public Funds: Understanding the NaRRA Bill*. Calder anchored her warning in a landmark Constitutional Court ruling handed down in late April, which invalidated a 2020 environmental permit granted to Bengal Development Limited for a large-scale mining project in the ecologically fragile Dry Harbour Mountains of St Ann. The court found the permit unconstitutional after the Jamaican government overrode formal objections from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and local communities, both of which warned the project would cause irreversible harm to the sensitive ecosystem.

    Calder pushed back against common claims that the NaRRA Bill is crafted to let the government outright bypass independent regulatory agencies entirely. Instead, she clarified, the legislation lets NaRRA control those bodies through a controversial “stepping order” mechanism. Under the bill’s terms, when a regulatory body like NEPA is asked to approve a reconstruction or infrastructure project, NaRRA’s appointed chief executive officer can set a mandatory deadline for the agency to issue a decision. If the agency fails to meet that deadline, or if the CEO simply disagrees with the agency’s technical or planning assessment, the stepping order allows NaRRA to override the regulator’s ruling entirely and issue the approval itself. Critically, the legislation includes no requirement to publicly disclose when NaRRA has chosen to disregard independent technical advice from regulators.

    Beyond the lack of transparency around overridden regulatory decisions, Calder identified two additional major accountability gaps in the bill: there is no explicit legal right for affected local communities to weigh in on projects that impact them, and the legislation does not codify a clear right to judicial review for contested NaRRA decisions. For Calder, this framework directly echoes the overreach the Constitutional Court condemned in the Dry Harbour Mountain case, risking embedding that same undemocratic practice into national law.

    Calder also drew attention to Section 26 of the NaRRA Bill, which exempts the new authority from the 2019 Public Investment Management System (PIMS) — a regulatory framework designed to guarantee value for public money on large-scale infrastructure projects by requiring a full pre-funding appraisal before any public funds are committed. This exemption is particularly concerning, she argued, because NaRRA’s mandate extends beyond hurricane recovery projects to include a portfolio of broad “national strategic projects” unrelated to post-storm rebuilding. While Calder acknowledged that proponents argue PIMS can slow project delivery, she stressed that the exemption creates a critical accountability risk that could open the door to wasteful spending of public resources.

    Perhaps the most pressing concern raised by Calder centers on governance oversight for NaRRA, which will manage a public budget totaling $6.7 billion USD, equal to roughly 1 trillion Jamaican dollars, at a time when public trust in government institutions is already low. Jamaica’s own 2012 Corporate Governance Framework requires independent governing boards for public entities to strengthen transparency, probity and decision-making effectiveness. Yet the NaRRA Bill does not include a formal governing board. Instead, the authority will be led by a single CEO appointed directly by the prime minister, supported by an advisory committee appointed by the relevant government minister.

    Calder emphasized that the advisory committee holds no actual legal authority: it cannot block or reverse any decision made by the CEO, the legislation does not require the committee to hold formal meetings, and ignoring the committee’s advice carries no legal consequences. Calder acknowledged that rapid reconstruction is a critical national priority after Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, but she argued that speed should never come at the cost of accountability for public funds and democratic decision-making. She called on the government to integrate robust transparency and accountability mechanisms into the final NaRRA legislation to avoid repeating the mistakes that led to the Dry Harbour Mountain constitutional conflict.

  • Jamaica Flour Mills announces price increase on flour products

    Jamaica Flour Mills announces price increase on flour products

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — One of Jamaica’s leading food manufacturing players, Jamaica Flour Mills Limited (JFM), has confirmed that it will roll out a price increase for its core flour products and a selection of bakery mixes starting Monday, May 18, 2026. The planned adjustment was made public via an official statement released by the firm this past Thursday. Company representatives explained that the decision comes after an extended stretch where JFM prioritized absorbing ballooning costs across every stage of its production process, from raw material procurement and packaging manufacturing to international freight shipping and other day-to-day manufacturing overheads. Even with aggressive internal cost-cutting and stabilization measures, JFM notes that persistent upward pressure on input costs, fueled largely by volatile global commodity market conditions, has left the company with no viable alternative to adjusting consumer prices. Looking ahead, the manufacturer says it will maintain close, ongoing monitoring of global input cost trends. The company has committed that if the external cost drivers that forced the current hike see a significant and sustained easing, it will revisit its pricing structure and make corresponding adjustments to bring costs down for consumers. In the near term, JFM says it will remain laser-focused on maximizing operational efficiency across its entire supply chain and manufacturing network, to minimize further price impacts for its customers.