INTERNATIONAL Trade and Investment Minister Hon. Richard Maru has congratulated the Managing Director of Muruk Tropical Produce Limited, Mrs Anna Wissink, for exporting Papua New Guinea frozen taros to selected markets in USA and Australia.
Maru congratulated Mrs. Wissink during his visit to Lae on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Mrs. Wissink told Minister Maru that Muruk Tropical has been buying fresh taros from the farmers in the five districts of Morobe Province for export, including farmers from Hagen, Western Highlands Province.
“We have been receiving requests from taro farmers across the country who want to sell their taros to us, however, high freight cost was a serious issue.
“The taros are locked up in the village but we cannot move them to the market because of the freight cost.
“Our market in the USA wants us to supply eight 20-feet reefer of frozen taros a month.
“That is how big the market is,” she said.
“Our selling price for a 20-feet reefer (14 tons of frozen taro) to the USA is K136, 000 and to Australia is K126, 000.
“The market is there, the demand is there, the supply is there, and the farmers are willing to participate but freight is a serious issue.”
Mrs. Wissink requested the Department of Agriculture to look at the demand for taro, the cost of freight, and the level of subsidies that could be provided for taro alone to support taro farmers.
“We need Government’s immediate assistance to this infant export industry by a ways of freight subsidy,” she said.
In response, Minister Maru said he would take the request up with the Agriculture Minister.
“Our short-term goal is to provide freight subsidy for taro alone and the long-term goal is to go into large-scale commercial taro farming in Morobe and expand to other provinces as the demand grows.
“The last thing we want is to kill the market opportunity by not being able to deliver more taros to meet the demand because it is difficult to get the taro to Lae due to high cost of freight.
“We need to support our SMEs like Muruk Tropical Produce Limited and our taro farmers just like how we have supported our coconut, coffee, and cocoa farmers in the freight subsidy.”
