Jamaicans can expect a steady supply of the traditional ham and chicken going into the Christmas season. Two major producers of the products are confident they will be able to supply the markets, despite some challenges brought on by the pandemic.   

However, they say prices will be higher when compared to a year ago.

Speaking on Taking Stock with Kalilah Reynolds, Chief Supply Chain Officer at GK Foods Division, Dianne Robinson, said hams in general will not be short, but admitted that some popular sizes may not be readily available based on the inputs coming from the farmers.

The smaller picnic hams produced by GK Foods, ranging between three and four kilograms, are usually the most sought after by the public around this time of the year. However, the company also produces leg sizes ranging from six to eight kilos.

Robinson said production started slow for the yuletide season as the small farmers were slightly hesitant about committing to raising pigs based on lingering uncertainties around the pandemic. 

“There was a limited supply to begin with but things are now picking up. Even though it’s a little late in the season, we’re still continuing to process and hams are flowing out of the factory and they will be available for Christmas,” she said.

GK Foods produces its hams from its factory in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland. Her reassurance comes against the background of restrictions on the importation of certain pork products including ham which the government said was done to protect the industry.

Meanwhile, Robinson said there will be price movements across the board as it relates to the range of hams being supplied to the public. However she said they are working to ensure prices remain stable, even as input costs increase and supply chain disruptions continue.

She said prices are expected to be between JM$1300 and JM$1400 per kilogram this year.

“We are not out of the woods yet where the disruptions from the pandemic are concerned so as those prices move, inputs move, farmers have to recover their inputs and we will do the best we can in terms of holding the prices but there are some of them that it becomes impossible to hold much longer…inputs have gone up compared with last year and as a result the finished product will also go up but we’re looking at best to hold it below double digits,” she said.  

Meanwhile, chicken prices, also up over last year, remain the cheapest animal protein on the market.

Vice President of The Best Dressed Chicken Division at Jamaica Broilers Group, Dave Fairman, said they are also hoping to keep prices stable for the rest of the year, despite several challenges with raw materials and input cost changes that are very volatile during the year.

Vice President of The Best Dressed Chicken Division at Jamaica Broilers Group, Dave Fairman

Fairman said JB Group will be rolling out its Christmas offerings on November 19 with no supply issues being anticipated.

He said the company had been planning ahead, noting that they have been able to keep operations uninterrupted by having an integrated value chain. 

“We have obviously been impacted at times with the logistics issues that everybody speaks about  but we have been able to do what we have to in order to supply the market all the times,” he said.

“We’re well on our way, ramping up steadily and nicely and we have quite a slate of products scheduled to roll out for the traditional season that Jamaicans look forward to from us each year,” he added. 

JB Group’s Christmas product line includes its traditional 6-7 pound roaster chickens and picnic and leg hams.

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