KINGSTON, Jamaica — President of the Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association (JCEA), Dr Norman Grant, is calling for urgent investment and mental health support for coffee farmers as Jamaica’s Blue Mountain coffee industry struggles to recover from devastating weather events and rising production costs.

In a release, Dr Grant said the sector has suffered major setbacks from Hurricanes Beryl (July 3, 2024) and Melissa (October 28, 2025), extreme rainfall and increased costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East, which has driven up fuel and shipping expenses.

According to Grant, Hurricane Melissa alone destroyed nearly 40 per cent of the mature coffee crop during the 2025/2026 season, resulting in the loss of about 100,000 boxes of coffee and an estimated $1 billion in farm-gate losses.