Aussie market an opportunity for Fiji agriculture exports

The Australian market provides an opportunity for Fiji to export most of its agricultural products as it is regarded as Fiji’s second major export destination.

This was highlighted by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Deputy Secretary Corporate Services and Planning, Maca Tulakepa who attended a Food Show in Australia with other Agriculture staff and six exporters.

She says the main purpose of attending the Food Show was to showcase Fiji’s fresh and frozen products in the Australian market and understand the market dynamics in Australia.

Tulakepa says the Fijian exporters got an opportunity to understand the food standard requirement for the Australian market and to explore other market opportunities for commodities such as Virgin Coconut Oil, Cocoa and Vanilla.

Tulakepa says Fiji has a very much competitive edge for commodities such as Taro and Cassava, however, there are still challenges affecting the quality and supply of these products.

She adds having Australia and New Zealand as it is major trading partner it gives Fiji an advantage to export fresh and frozen products, however, Fiji still cannot supply a range of these products due to the lack of organization in our supply chain system.

She adds Fiji extremely faces high costs of transportation in comparison to its competitors from Asia and South America.

Tulakepa highlights there is a high demand for our local produce in the New Zealand market despite the competition from bigger exporters such as Vietnam, India and Thailand which tend to threaten our share in the Australian market.