Replaces falling Japanese demand

THE Mavis Bank Coffee Factory Limited (MBCF) has signed a major deal to supply Barnies Coffee and Tea Company in the United States with 100 per cent Blue Mountain coffee to its 40 stores in Florida.

The exclusive agreement is for roasting and distribution of the beans and was signed off recently by Norman Grant, managing director of MBCF and Barnie Philip Jones Jr, President of the Orlando-based Barnies Coffee and Tea Company. The signing took place at the Mavis Bank Coffee Factory in Portland.

Senator Grant said the deal would help offset the falling demand for the Jamaican coffee.

The partnership is a timely one and a perfect fit as our major market in Japan has been affected by the global recession and therefore they have not purchased the same quantities as in the previous crop year, Grant said, adding that the venture was a welcome lifeline to the company and the farmers who supply it.

He said MBCF had been aggressively diversifying our markets and we have targeted the US as a major part of that thrust.

Grant said that sales to the US market now represents 20 per cent of the companys overall sales, up from one per cent  when the company first ventured into that market. At that time some 99 per cent of its exports were to Japan.

We are projecting to diversify our market to have sales to the US and other markets outside of Japan, representing 50 per cent of overall sales over the next five years, he said.