The importation of patties which has been a cause for concern as expressed by the president of the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association, Omar Azan, is just a case of Jamaican patties returning home.

The patties are manufactured by a Jamaican-owned firm in the United States, Caribbean Food Delights, and a division of Royal Caribbean Bakery. The company employs hundreds of Jamaicans directly and indirectly in the New York Tri-state Area. It has a reputation of being a good corporate citizen in the Jamaican community in the United States. I am personally familiar with the work that the company does with feeding Jamaican athletes at the annual Penn Relays.

Contributions made

On Jamaican soil, the company has contributed significant funds to the Mona School of Business at the University the West Indies, Father Ho Lung's Missionaries of the Poor, and contributed a mobile/ medical dental lab to assist those in need of health care.

Finally, I think this is a win-win situation as the company is now serving a niche in the local patties market which allows well-packaged frozen patties to be available to persons wanting that convenience. This is a case of the free market operating at its best.

I am, etc.,

CONROY JULIAN

Conscripta@hotmail.com

6 Elliot Ave

Kingston 8