Jamaica’s pimento industry, one of the country’s most valuable agricultural exports, is beginning a slow recovery after Hurricane Melissa destroyed an estimated 70 per cent of crops across key producing areas in October 2025.

The regulator, the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA), has stepped up support, distributing seedlings, fertilisers and other inputs to affected farmers.

The intervention targets heavily impacted parishes in the western belt, including St Elizabeth, Westmoreland and Hanover, where the damage was most severe. Industry officials estimate that full recovery could take between two and three years.