The Government’s plan to set up a coconut processing plant in Madang in partnership with a Sri Lankan Coconut Giant, the Jaindi Exports, is on track, says Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru.
The Minister made this statement following the visit of Jaindi Export’s Founder and Managing Director, KM Sampath Anuruddha, and his team last weekend to the proposed site of the coconut processing plant along the North Coast Road in Madang.
Mr. Anuruddha said they were happy with the proposed site – a 20-hectare land owned by the Madang Provincial Government at Siar adjacent to the RD Tuna Canners, and with the cooperation they were receiving from the Madang Provincial Government and the National Government.
He made a commitment to have the design and the plan for the project ready by March this year.
The technical team from Jaindi Export will arrive in two weeks to work with the technical team from PNG side to complete all technical aspects of the project and to finalize the design and the plan as soon as possible.
Minister Maru said the JV partners were looking at setting up a fully integrated processing plant where all parts of the coconut including the fibrous husk, the hard shell, the white edible flesh, and the liquid coconut water will all be processed into finished products for the domestic market and exports.
Mr. Anuruddha and his team also met with the farmers in Madang who were very excited about this project and said this would be “easy work” for them.
“Labouring to make copra and selling to copra mills to produce crude coconut oil will soon be a thing of the past. There will be less labour, the farmers will make more money, and we will stop creating jobs for other countries from the exports of our crude oil,” Minister Maru said.
“In the future, only final products will be leaving our shores through this proposed coconut processing plant. This is part of Marape-Rosso Government’s deliberate plan to do away with exporting of semi-processed and raw materials out of PNG. This project will transform the entire coconut industry in PNG,” he added.
The Governor for Madang, Ramsey Pariwa, and his Provincial Administration have been very supportive of this project.
“We are excited to see this project kick off so we can process our coconuts into final products to maximize value, create more jobs, and to encourage the industry to grow,” Governor Pariwa said.