The biggest single-input story in Jamaica’s reconstruction — cement supply — is heading into the rebuild year on weak footing.
Caribbean Cement Company Limited (CCCL) failed to lift annual output past one million tonnes in 2025, with production dipping below 2020 pandemic levels, according to data in the company’s annual report. The disappointing result came despite the commissioning of an expanded kiln — the equivalent of an industrial furnace — in April–May 2025, just months before Hurricane Melissa struck the island.
The annual report flags “uncertainty” going forward, citing higher input costs driven by oil-price shocks tied to the U.S.–Iran war.
For Jamaica’s recovery, the implications are concrete in every sense of the word. Every house, school, and bridge being rebuilt across the western parishes draws on local cement supply. When CCCL underproduces, contractors either pay more, wait longer, or import from regional alternatives. All three options compress timelines and budgets that were already tight before October 2025.
For diaspora households contributing to family rebuilds, the bottleneck has practical implications too. Materials cost more, labour cycles run longer, and projects that were quoted in November look different in May.
The kiln story is now a recovery story — not because anyone planned it that way, but because Hurricane Melissa rewrote what Jamaica’s industrial baseline needs to be.
Source: Jamaica Gleaner (April 30, 2026).