Durrant Pate/Contributor 

Montego Bay-based regional food distributor, Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ), is ramping up its capital expenditure programme for next year.

The board of CPJ has approved plans for a U$2.3 million modernisation of its meat processing plant with work to commence during  the first quarter of the 2024 financial year. This is in addition to a capital investment of U$1 million solar expansion project with installation also set to commence during the first quarter of next year of FY2024.

Space has been created for this capital investment  as a result of the company retiring early J$500-million series of five-year unsecured promissory bonds issued on April 27, 2018. The bonds matured last month but CPJ retired them a month early on April 8.

Expanding to St Lucia

In the meantime, the Board has also approved plans to expand its operation in Saint Lucia with a new store. Final plans are being put in place with operations to begin in the second quarter of FY2024.

Two months ago, Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) reached an agreement with CPJ to settle its tax liability for the period January 2012 to December 2015 at J$328 million.

This represents the culmination of seven years of negotiations between the parties to arrive at a final position regarding its tax liability for general consumption tax (GCT) for January 2012 to December 2015.