Chicken remains focus of Jamaica Broilers diversification

The Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies is a vertically integrated agribusiness company, but chicken production remains at its core.

Jamaica Broilers' hatchery facilities can produce more than 1 million day-old chicks each week. | Courtesy Jamaica Broilers
Jamaica Broilers' hatchery facilities can produce more than 1 million day-old chicks each week. | Courtesy Jamaica Broilers

The Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies is a vertically integrated agribusiness company, but chicken production remains at its core.

Established 59 years ago, Jamaica Broilers has grown significantly, achieving a turnover of US$300 million in 2016, and has operations beyond the island, but according to president of Jamaican operations Conley Salmon, its “most important victories have been here in Jamaica, working to support our local economy.”

Within Jamaica, the company has two divisions: Best Dressed Chicken (BDC), which produces approximately 1 million kilograms of chicken each week, and which is sold wholesale and retail island-wide; and the Hi-Pro business, offering day-old chicks, feed, pharmaceuticals and other farming goods, selling directly to customers and supplying farm stores.

Conley Salmon Jamaica Broilers 1

Jamaica Broilers Group has grown significantly beyond its home market, but according to Jamaican operations  president Conley Salmon, its most important victories have been in Jamaica. | Courtesy Jamaica Broilers

Jamaica Broilers sources its hatching eggs from its International Poultry Breeders (IPB) division, which supplies fertile eggs out of Jamaica and the U.S., then hatches them in its own facilities. Its hatchery facilities can produce more than 1 million day-old chicks each week.

Where sourcing feed is concerned, Jamaica Broilers is owner of the Best Dressed Feed Mill, which is the largest in the Caribbean. The fully automated mill, which has ISO 9001:2008 certification, produces more than 260,000 tons of pelleted feed per year, with diets mainly based on corn and soybean.

The BDC field operation manages the growth of newly hatched chicks, placing them on farm for an average of six weeks, and offering technical and veterinary support.

Once grown, birds are taken to the company’s processing plant, which was the first in the Caribbean to gain ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard certification.

The plant produces whole birds, parts, burgers, patties and sausages, as well as premium smoked meats sold under the Hamilton’s Smokehouse brand.

“Being a part of every step of the process means that we can attest to the safety of and quality of our products,” says Salmon.

Beyond Jamaica

Jamaica Broilers also has a presence in Haiti – Haiti Broilers. It operates a hatchery in Lafiteau, near Port-au-Prince, which receives fertile eggs weekly, and sends hatched chicks to various contract farmers, before processing in its own processing plant. In addition, Haiti Broilers also has a layer operation with more than 400,000 birds.

In the U.S., the company owns Florida-based Wincorp International, one of the largest suppliers of fertile eggs in the country as well as a supplier of breeder houses, farm supplies and packing equipment. Wincorp is the owner of IPB.

IPB’s Georgia operations also supply hatching eggs in other markets, including Trinidad, Barbados, Suriname and Guyana. IPB also has operations in Arkansas, supplying fertilized eggs across the U.S. and into other countries.  

Keeping in contact

Salmon says Jamaica Broilers likes to think of itself more as a family than a business, and this is perhaps demonstrated by the way it reaches out to small-scale farmers.

Jamaica has a multitude of backyard poultry producers – more than 120,000 out of a total national population of 1.6 million

There remains a literacy gap in the country, and to better reach farmers, the Hi-Pro division makes use of mobile phone technology.

The company has made mobile-accessible, free-to-view videos available, covering topics including health and nutrition. If a viewer has further concerns, advice can be given over the phone, or Hi-Pro can arrange for a representative to visit.

Best Dressed Chicken Processing Plant 3

The company’s Spring Village processing plant was the first in the Caribbean to gain ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard certification. | Courtesy Jamaica Broilers

To learn about more broiler, turkey and egg producers in the Caribbean, visit

www.WATTAgNet.com/directories/80.html

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