The rainiest months are May and October. About a fourth of Jamaica's people work in agriculture. Sugar cane is the most important crop. Other farm products include allspice, bananas, cacao, citrus fruits, coconuts, coffee, milk, poultry, and yams. However, the nation's farms do not produce enough food for all the people, and so Jamaica must import much of its food.
Mining provides much of Jamaica's income.
Jamaica is one of the world's largest producers of bauxite. Plants near some of the bauxite mines remove a mineral compound called alumina from the bauxite ore. This process is the first step in the production of aluminum. Jamaicans also mine gypsum, which is used in making plasterboard and other construction materials. Minerals are Jamaica's chief exports.