Jamaican Scotch bonnet prices soar amid shortage, putting the squeeze on

We have eye-watering news for those who like a dash of heat.

Jamaican Scotch bonnet peppers are the latest food to be hit by a shortage. The spicy peppers are a key ingredient in Jamaican jerk seasoning and hot sauces, which are table staples in Jamaica that are also popular in Canada and part of a growing global demand for Caribbean flavours.

But as a crop, Scotch bonnets are temperamental and susceptible to pests and disease, which can lead to local supply issues. Plus, Jamaican produce has been hammered by recent weather events, such as Hurricane Melissa in October.

“It’s a very sensitive crop,” Sheldon Grant, a farmer in St. Catherine Parish, Jamaica, told CBC News.

“But it is a crop that offers great potential. It’s like gambling.”

Grant and his wife, Shanice Bedward-Grant, have tried to grow Scotch bonnets every year since 2021, the year they launched their farm, Nature Inspired Jamaica. They’ve had two successful crops. The rest were devastated by pests called thrips, disease and 2024’s Hurricane Beryl.

WATCH | Jamaican farmer talks Scotch bonnet growing pains:

Jamaican farmer says ‘challenging’ Scotch bonnet pepper supply is pinched

Shanice Bedward-Grant, a farmer at Nature Inspired Limited in St. Catherine Parish, Jamaica, says Scotch bonnets are a challenging crop. Recent hurricanes have contributed to a price increase and lower yield.

After they lost another crop to disease last year, they didn’t plant them again. Instead, when Hurricane Melissa swept across the island in late October, it wiped out their sweet peppers and sorrels.

Hurricane, fuel prices drive up costs

CBC News has reached out to Jamaica’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, the Jamaica Agricultural Society and the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority for data on Scotch bonnet peppers and not yet heard back.

But recent media reports speak of Jamaican Scotch bonnet peppers shortages and price increases, and say that some hot sauce makers have had to scale back production. Grant says the last hurricane wiped out entire farms, and by December, Scotch bonnet prices in local markets surged as high as $5,000 JMD per pound (about $44 Cdn).

In Toronto, several shops and distributors have told CBC News how difficult and expensive it is to get Scotch bonnets, with some saying soaring jet fuel prices are adding to shipping costs.

“Everything right now in Jamaica is expensive. Every single thing,” said Andy Narine, the owner of Tamisha Trading, a Caribbean produce distributor based in Scarborough, Ont.

Prices have doubled, shopkeeper says

Jamaican Scotch bonnet peppers are barely being stocked in Toronto grocery stores, because it’s much cheaper for distributors to get peppers from Trinidad and the Dominican Republic, Narine says.

An eight-pound box of Scotch bonnet peppers from the Dominican Republic might cost $30 or $40, versus $60 for a…