The Minister for Employment has told parliament that Kiwifruits Industries Ltd wants to buy tropical fruit from Fiji apart from hiring Fijian workers.
Semi Koroilavesau said the fruits include pawpaws, bananas and pineapples.
He said they will further explore this opportunity with their counterparts in New Zealand.
Koroilavesau said they have mutually agreed to start a pilot project for Fijian workers with its Australian operations in Shepparton, Victoria.
He said to assist in the Christchurch rebuild, the New Zealand government is starting a new pilot for about 24 carpenters from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa around mid-year for one year.
Koroilavesau said he met the two employers, the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology that will be screening the workers and the Pacific Trust, an institute to provide Pastoral care to Fijian workers in Christchurch.
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