Consumer confidence dips 2.3% as heat squeezes egg farms and Old Harbour fire leaves 27 homeless

Consumer confidence in Jamaica fell 2.3% in the latest business and consumer confidence indices, Market Research Services Limited executive chairman Don Anderson said Tuesday, July 21, citing higher living costs and a dimmer view of current business conditions.

Anderson said fewer people now rate business conditions as good, with that share moving from 22.4% in the second quarter of 2025 to 16.8% in the first quarter of 2026 and 16.2% in the second quarter. “Fewer and fewer persons are considering that the current business conditions are good,” he said, adding that consumers are growing cautious about challenges ahead.

By contrast, business confidence rose 2.3% in the same period. The survey covered 116 firms. Anderson said the gain still leaves business confidence below levels seen in 2025 and earlier years, noting that firms tend to respond less sharply than consumers to political pressure and promises.

Separately, egg producers are under strain as summer heat intensifies. Mark Campbell, owner of Campbell Egg Farm Limited, which mainly supplies Jamaica’s north coast, told TVJ News that extreme temperatures have caused heavy losses. Laying birds cope poorly with heat and prefer roughly 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, he said, and many poultry houses were not built for prolonged heat. Farmers are reviewing farm design, and interim advice includes watering house roofs between about 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The Ministry of Agriculture is also stepping up checks on imported produce after a multi-state US outbreak of cyclosporiasis linked to the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis. US officials tied cases to shredded iceberg lettuce, prompting a recall and wider probe. As of July 18, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 1,600 confirmed cases and 94 hospitalisations. Jamaica’s plant quarantine and produce inspection branch has tightened monitoring of imported iceberg lettuce and other leafy greens, with stronger port surveillance and continued traceability checks.

In St. Catherine, 27 people from one family were left homeless after fire destroyed several houses at 30 Burke Road in Old Harbour early Friday. Resident Sherica Hall said the household was asleep when the blaze broke out about 3 a.m. “When I look outside here, my car was on fire and there was a lot of fire out here,” she said. She salvaged clothes, food, phones and tablets but said those items were later lost, estimating firefighters took about 45 minutes to arrive and that the first truck had only a partial load of water. Her 17-year-old daughter, who has cataracts in both eyes and other health issues, was pushed in the scramble and had to be carried to safety. Police dismissed rumours of a family feud and said arson is not currently suspected, though an electrical cause remains possible pending investigation. Churches, schools, justices of the peace, police, political representatives and neighbours have been offering aid.