SAN JUAN – Jamaica’s largest brewer, Red Stripe, is expected to move production for the U.S. and Canada back to the island starting in September, the Jamaican government said in a statement.

Since 2012, the Red Stripe beer sold in the North American market has come from a facility in Pennsylvania.

The decision to shift that production back to Jamaica will create 300 new direct jobs on the island.

Finance and Planning Minister Peter Phillips said the project represents “a vote of confidence in Jamaica and its possibilities.”

Red Stripe has invested more than $41 million to expand capacity and improve efficiency in its Jamaican operations, Managing Director Ricardo Nuncio said.

In January 2014, Red Stripe signed an agreement with the Agriculture Ministry to plant and cultivate up to 2,400 acres of cassava to provide an alternative for barley as part of a government-led initiative to reduce the island’s dependence on imports.