Jamaica egg producers report $18m hit as heat wave kills flocks

Jamaica's baking heat is squeezing the egg sector hard, according to Jamaica Egg Farmers Association (JEFA) president Mark Campbell, who reports rising bird mortality and weaker laying rates across the industry.

Speaking with The Gleaner, Campbell said producers islandwide have so far logged 1,200 chickens lost to the heat. "This figure represents a total of a potential loss of 3,600 boxes [of eggs]. That calculates to $18 million in revenue loss."

Surviving birds are also laying far fewer eggs under the extreme conditions, he added. "Birds do not eat during the heat. If they don't eat they don't lay and more dying occurs," he explained.

At the same time, growers are shouldering higher costs to keep stock alive even as yields slide. "Farmers have to install sprinklers to cool down the birds and purchase anti-heat medication. All this is happening while production is falling," he said.

Campbell pointed to a run of recent blows to the sector, including Hurricane Melissa in October last year and Hurricane Beryl the year prior. "Nature has not been kind to egg farmers. We have had back-to-back hurricanes in Beryl and Mellisa and now this heat wave which might be around until October," he remarked.