JP Farms: Banana, pineapple production return but more time needed for plantain

JP Farms has nearly recovered from two years of hurricane damage, with pineapples back to full production and bananas at roughly 90 per cent of pre-storm output.
The St Mary-based company, which runs one of the largest farms in the island, has also resumed exports.
“We should not have any reason to have any shortage in the supermarkets, the (municipal) markets and hotels; all the channels are being well serviced since June,” JP Farms General Manager Mario Figueroa told the Financial Gleaner on Monday.
Banana output is running at 4,000 boxes per week, still short of the 2023 pre-hurricane level of 4,500 boxes, Figueroa said. Each box holds 18 kilogrammes. Pineapple production has returned to 1,000 boxes per week, with each box holding 15 kilogrammes.
The recovery should eventually lift revenue at JP Farms parent company Pan Jamaica Group (PJG). Increased output should also ease the price of green bananas – a staple in kitchens – which has remained elevated since Hurricanes Melissa and Beryl struck in 2025 and 2024. A dozen green bananas sells for $500 at an epicentre of commerce – Coronation Market in downtown Kingston.
About 30 per cent of JP Farms bananas are shipped to Jamaican communities in the United States, Canada and the Cayman Islands. None of the locally grown bananas are used for chips, which are produced by Antillean Foods Inc, another PJG subsidiary.
Also, plantains will take longer to return to shelves in full volume.
“We have just started to produce plantains in small volumes. Full production will start in September because the plantains have a little longer cycle than the bananas to recover after the hurricane,” Figueroa said.
JP Farms sits within PJG’s specialty foods segment, one of four operating divisions alongside financial services, property and infrastructure, and global services.  
In April 2023, the food and logistics conglomerate Jamaica Producers Group, which owned JP Farms, merged with PanJam Investment Group. Following the merger, Jamaica Producers became the largest shareholder in PJG with a 34.6 per cent stake. 
The specialty foods segment recorded an $85-million loss during the March 2026 quarter, compared to $63-million profit a year earlier. That division was the only loss-making one during the period, “primarily driven by the impact of Hurricane Melissa on the JP Farms operation”, according to statements accompanying the financials.
The report also added that the “rehabilitation of the banana farm” has been completed, and is “on track to return to full production” by third-quarter 2026.
“Not many companies, after two consecutive years with hurricanes, are still betting on agriculture,” Figueroa said.
luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com