The $40 million Caribbean Egg Processors Ltd., which will produce pasteurized liquid eggs for local and regional markets, has opened in Kingston, Jamaica. Preliminary plans are already in place for the export of pasteurized liquid eggs to hoteliers in the region, said Roy Baker, vice president of the company.
Commissioned into service in February, the facility, which is located in the Montego Bay Freeport, is the first of its kind in the region. It is expected to not only satisfy the demand for liquid eggs by hoteliers, but will also help increase the consumption of eggs locally, Baker said.
According to Baker, Jamaica's per capita consumption of eggs is among the lowest in the world, with only a seasonal heightening of demand at Christmas time. As such, he added, there is a lot of wastage.
"Traditionally, farmers have to cut back egg production after Christmas,” Baker said. “At Christmas, there is a peak demand; after Christmas there is usually an abundance of eggs on the market, which depresses the prices and it puts farmers out of business.
“We want to get more people to use eggs, and this is one of our biggest challenges,” he added. “With the realization of the liquid egg plant, we see where we could appease this problem considerably because with liquid eggs, we have a longer shelf life and we have a wider market.”
The plant has the capacity to convert some 18,000 eggs per hour.
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