Jamaican agricultural conglomerate, Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) has announced that it will be scaling back the level of investment made in Haiti.

This is due mainly to the country’s political tension and the ability to generate consistent sales, having experienced a run of quarterly losses. However, for the 2021 financial year ended on May 2, 2021, the Haitian market, which is dynamic and fluid, reported a 14 per cent increase in revenues from the corresponding period in 2021.

JBG Chairman, Robert Levy advised shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) last week that during the 2021 financial year, the company reported strong performances in both the US & local markets with special commendations made to the ‘wholesale’ segment of revenue.

This segment grew by 10 per cent on a year-over-year basis as well as the ‘value-added’ segment, which consists of their ready to eat products namely, chicken nuggets & breaded chicken wings. 

‘Non-absorbable’, rising operational costs

Overall, the value-added segment saw growth in the region of 16 per cent. Levy lamented on the rise in the cost of raw materials for JBG’s operations, singling a rise in animal feed, shipping fees and energy costs, as main reasons for customers seeing slight increases in prices. He made the point that JBG could not absorb those high costs but remained adamant that the Group is still in a strong financial position.

Despite the economic environment owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, JBG proudly boasted of their $25 million investment in the local agri-industry through the Hi-Pro growing initiative. That investment saw JBG gifting 78 tonnes of feed, 20,000 baby chicks and 900 start-up kits.

The overall health of the company remains in very good standing, recording a two per cent increase in total revenues, for the financial year ended May 2, 2021. Revenues climbed to $56.95 billion from $55.75 billion in 2020 which translated to a 76 per cent increase in net profit to a total of $2.40 billion coming from $1.36 billion in 2020.

For the first quarter, JBG reported total revenues of $17.61 billion, a 40 per cent increase on the $12.58 billion reported in 2020 which resulted in a net profit of $275.48 million coming from the 2020 posting of $382.64 million.

JBG reiterated their commitment to producing high-quality hormone and antibiotic-free meat, their commitment to supporting local small farmers through their ‘grow strong’ initiative and generating online sales via www.hiproace.com