The Jamaica Egg Farmers Association Limited was established in 1998 and was incorporated under the Companies Act as a Limited Liability Company on the 29th September, 2000. The Association, a non-partisan, non-profit organization was established to bring together, as a single unit, all egg farmers in Jamaica in order to sustain and expand the industry and promote the interest of its members and to be the representative of egg farmers island-wide. The unified body is therefore in a stronger position to negotiate with all stakeholders and partners for the benefit of all concerned.
Governance
The Association is managed by a nine-member Board of Directors, comprising a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and five Directors who are elected at the Association’s Annual General Meetings. A manager coordinates the day to day operations of the Association and reports directly to the President
Membership
The current membership is 100+ farmers island wide, this figure includes associate members, with an average age of 40. Approximately 25% of the membership is made up of female farmers. The membership boasts flock size ranging from as low as 200 to a high of 72,000, representing approximately 75% of eggs produced in Jamaica.
The advent of the JEFA to the egg industry has radically changed the landscape of the table egg industry in Jamaica: The industry had shifted from an import dependent regime to a self-sufficient unit.
Since 2005 Jamaica has not imported egg for the domestic market.
1) Table egg quality has moved from Third World experience to a First World standard
- The JEFA sent a team of its members to Canada to understudy the Canadian Egg Industry – one of the leading egg producing countries in the world; the exposure to the Canadians experience contributed greatly to the Associations ability to focus on improving its operation, provide relevant training programmes and in achieving its present First World Standard Table Egg Industry
- Our association also worked closely with the Bureau of Standards Jamaica to establish the now grading, labelling and quality requirements of table egg, JSCCS 52:2005
2) Production has increased substantially:
- From an average of 120 million eggs per year in 2008 to 192 million in 2018.
The Market
Exports
Jamaica has been exporting eggs to the Eastern Caribbean for a number of years. During the last quarter of 2018 JEFA Members exported twenty-six thousand eight hundred and eighty dozen eggs to Trinidad.
Challenges
1) Table eggs are the only locally produced agricultural item being taxed with GCT?
- In June 2012, the Government imposed 16½% tax on table eggs. The tax put the industry in total chaos, a dreaded blow to egg consumption in Jamaica:
- 16½% GCT is affecting consumer behaviour due to the high cost of eggs after GCT is applied
2) Low per capita consumption of eggs:
- In Third World countries the average consumption of eggs is 2-2.5 eggs per person per week. In Developing countries consumption average is 3-3.5 eggs
- In First World countries egg consumption averages 5.5-7 eggs per person per week. In Jamaica the consumption is 1-1.5 eggs per person per week; including a booming tourist industry.
Technical Assistance
The Association provides technical assistance to egg producers to enable the production of high quality safe table eggs. To this end, JEFA receives technical assistance from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries’ (MICAF) Veterinary Division, Ministry of Health’s Veterinary Public Health Department and the Bureau of Standards
The Association is also a member of the Egg Industry Development Committee (EIDC) which is chaired by the Director of Marketing & Research Services Division, Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries. JEFA is a member of the Veterinary Division’s National Animal Health Surveillance Network.
In addition, our main pullet suppliers, Jamaica Egg Services, which is a member of the Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies and the Caribbean Broilers Group also provide advice to individual egg producers on layer management, and animal health and welfare.
The Association is a member of the Caribbean Poultry Association
