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Business | Market: Priority Crops

Below are more details on the priority crops, along with realistic insights into what each one requires in terms of land, time to maturity, and yield expectations.

Sweet Potato

  • Land Size: 5 acres

  • Initial Investment: Just under J$4.8M

  • Maturity: 3–4 months

  • Yield: ~7.28 metric tons per acre

Breadfruit

  • Land Size: 20 acres

  • Initial Investment: Just over J$10.8M

  • Maturity: 3–5 years

  • Yield: ~53 metric tons per acre per cycle

Ackee

  • Land Size: 20 acres

  • Initial Investment: Just over J$10M

  • Maturity: 3–6 years

  • Yield: 2 harvests per year; ~10 boxes per tree

Mango

  • Land Size: 20 acres

  • Initial Investment: Over J$13M

  • Maturity: 3–4 years

  • Yield: ~5.26 metric tons per acre

Onion

  • Land Size: 5 acres

  • Initial Investment: Just over J$9M

  • Maturity: 4–5 months

  • Yield: ~5.87 metric tons per acre (~146,750 garlic bulbs per acre)

There was a shortage of this crop to serve the local market in 2024, which led to importing of this crop to supply local demand.

Irish Potato

  • Land Size: 5 acres

  • Initial Investment: Over J$5M

  • Maturity: 3–4 months

  • Yield: ~7.28 metric tons per acre

There was a shortage of this crop to serve the local market in 2024, which led to importing of this crop to supply local demand.

Honorable Mentions

Garlic

In 2023, Jamaica imported approximately 1,882,570 kilograms (about 1,883 metric tonnes; ~47,075,000 garlic bulbs) of fresh or chilled garlic from China, valued at $1.65 million USD. This accounted for nearly 99% of Jamaica’s total garlic imports by volume that year, making China the dominant supplier of garlic to the Jamaican market.(World Integrated Trade Solution)

For context, Jamaica's total garlic imports in 2023 amounted to 1,941,560 kilograms, valued at $1.69 million USD. Other sources included the Netherlands (58,000 kg) and the United States (990 kg), but these were minimal compared to imports from China.(World Integrated Trade Solution)

China's role as a major supplier is consistent with its position as the world's largest garlic producer, accounting for approximately 73% of global production. (Wikipedia)

Videos

  1. Step-by-Step Guide: Cultivating Onions Using Hydroponic Methods
  2. My New Favorite Way To Grow BIG Onions 🧅
  3. 8 Potato Growing Hacks That Actually Work 🥔💯
  4. STOP Believing These Potato Growing Myths!
  5. 8 Tips to Grow Perfect Onions, Garlic, and Leeks
  6. Planting Onion Sets: What to Watch Out For
  7. 3 Onion Growing Mistakes to Avoid
  8. How to Grow Sweet Potatoes in Containers Pt. 1 | Planting, Soil, & Varieties
  9. Gardening Experts Said This Wouldn’t Work—Now I Have 450 lbs of Potatoes
  10. We Grew Potatoes 7 Different Ways, Here's What Happened 🥔
  11. Scotch Bonnet Pepper farming in Jamaica. Losses and lessons #caribbeanagriculture
  12. Watch This Before You Plant Garlic
  13. 10 herbs I use to heal my body at home 🌿
  14. The secret to growing grapes has been passed down from our ancestors. Grapes are fruity and sweet

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