Hurricane damage to the Jamaican agriculture sector is likely to top more than $200 million according to estimates.

The Jamaica Agriculture Society (JAS) is still assessing the impact of hurricanes Dennis and Emily, but early reports suggest the recent hit by Emily has destroyed more than 40 per cent of the island’s bananas.

Jamaica was hit by the outer edges of Emily at the weekend, with winds of up to 60mph and heavy rains leading to flooding in several areas.

A spokesman for JAS said he would not be surprised if damage to industry was closer to $300m.

He said: “While the losses are not as huge as (Hurricane) Ivan, it certainly is a body blow to farmers. There were some domestic crop losses also with Dennis but the loss to domestic crop through Emily was substantially greater than Dennis because it pounded the south coast.

JAS is now set to urge producers to invest in glasshouse technology, which helps reduce the risks of crops being wiped out by hurricanes.

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