Introduction
‘‘Too many natural products for Jamaicans not to be successful’’ – Deneese Hamilton Founder and Managing Director of Perfect Hair and Skin Products. Natural Products are anything that is produced by life and includes plant fluids and materials. They are known to provide various health benefits and can be used to manufacture many different products. The focus of this article is to address the current state of Jamaica’s natural products industry, whether it needs to be improved and how to go about improving it.
Method
A survey, generated via Kobotoolbox, was taken of persons living in the St. Catherine and Kingston parishes of Jamaica. The survey comprised of 10 questions and had 15 submissions. Majority of the questions were multiple choice and sought to gain public opinion on the production, use and possible economic benefit of investing more in Jamaican natural products. The main results of the survey are stated below.
Results
The majority of participants used teas, soaps/body washes, oils, lotions, shampoos and conditioners made from natural ingredients; most of which were Jamaican made.
Most participants only saw the sale and use of Jamaican products a fair amount of the time and wanted more options to be available.
Participants wanted to see Cocoa powder, Coconut, Sorrel, Turmeric, Aloe Vera, Carrot and associated products to be produced more locally and believed that it would benefit the Jamaican economy to export more.
Many participants agreed that producing and using more Jamaican products would benefit Jamaicans by creating more jobs, supporting Jamaican farmers, making healthier options available, increasing foreign-exchange and recycling money within the country.
Others also stated that Jamaica could even become more independent and globally recognized in the industry.
Discussion
The main findings of this study are that Jamaica's Natural Products industry has high potential and can be improved through more utilization, production and exportation of Jamaican natural products. In 2021, Jamaica was recorded to have a negative trade balance due to only exporting $1.441 billion US but importing $5.975 billion US worth of goods. According to a goodnewsjamaica.com article entitled Natural Products - Unused Potential; Jamaicans have been using Jamaica’s vast variety of plants and other resources for a multitude of things such as in healthcare, food and beauty. Therefore, it is not outlandish to say that Jamaica could gain trade benefits from said natural resources if utilised properly. There are already many brands and entrepreneurs creating natural Jamaican products, the point is to create and export more in a cost effective way. Aforementioned Deneese Hamilton’s strategy for keeping prices down is by using Jamaican resources and supporting Jamaican farmers. Deneese also mentioned that it is unfortunate that Jamaicans look overseas for 'good' products when those overseas look to Jamaica for natural products.
This was a small survey research; therefore, research must be conducted on a larger sample size to gain more data. Research also needs to be conducted on how to ensure Jamaica gains the most from exporting its Jamaican brand natural products.
By Alliah Francis
References
Hill, A. (2023, May 1). Jamaica Must Export A lot More. The Jamaica Observer. https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/jamaica-must-export-a-lot-more/
Terelonge, E. (2018, January 17). Natural Products – Unused Potential. https://goodnewsjamaica.com/2018/01/17/natural-products-unused-potential/
The Gleaner. (2017, November 13). Growth and Jobs, Too Many Natural Products for Jamaicans Not to Be Successful. https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20171114/growth-jobs-too-many-natural-products-jamaicans-not-be-successful
Western Oregon University. CH105: Chapter 6 – A Brief History of Natural Product and Organic Chemistry. https://wou.edu/chemistry/courses/online-chemistry-textbooks/ch105-consumer-chemistry/ch105-chapter-6-hydrocarbons/#:~:text=The%20broadest%20definition%20of%20a,(e.g.%20soil%2C%20coal).
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