JAMAICA (24 September)
The country was hit by two major hurricanes in just one month. On 11 August, Hurricane “Charley” affected southern parishes of Manchester and St. Elizabeth, while on 11 September Hurricane “Ivan” caused serious damage to housing and infrastructures in western and southern coasts. Although a comprehensive assessment of the damage to the agricultural sector is not yet available, heavy losses – between 60 and 30 per cent of production - have been inflicted to all main foreign exchange earner crops such as coffee, sugar cane, bananas, cocoa, citrus and vegetables. About 20 per cent of the poultry production is also reported to be destroyed.