BLACK MARKET BEEF.

With several thousand tons of imported beef finding its way onto the local black market yearly, livestock farmers say they are under siege and could end up bankrupt if the Government does not act quickly, reports IPS (January 18, 1999): Over the past three years, Jamaica has imported more than 4 million tons of beef. But nearly twice that amount -- some 8 to 10 million tons -- has been smuggled onto the island, severely impacting domestic beef farmers; Head of the Revenue Protection Division (RPD) Mike Surridge says that most of the illegal imports come from the U.S. disguised as chicken parts, which incur import duties of between zero and 5%. Beef has a much higher tariff of 40%, and there are plans to increase the rate to 86%; While imported beef sells for between $1.64 and $1.97 per kilogram, local meat sells for between $2.47 and $2.74 per kilogram. With some 20,000 local livestock farmers, the industry employs a total of between 10,000 and 15,000 workers. Most farmers have been complaining for years about what illicit imports are doing to the industry, but they say no one seems to be listening; That may soon change, as the Ministry of Agriculture and the RPD have launched a campaign against businesses who flout the law. Foreign-owned violators will not be allowed to continue operating in Jamaica, while local companies could face stiff fines or prison sentences of up to two years. To make it more difficult to import beef illegally, legitimate importers will have to provide Jamaican custom officers with a permit showing the country from which the meat originated.