We are doing everything to meet the demand of the tourism sector and not withdraw from the export market – Dr. Reddy

Minister for Agriculture, Doctor Mahendra Reddy says they are having discussions as they are a bit concerned as the borders are opening and they do not want to withdraw on the produce that they are selling out and not meet the demand of the tourism sector.

Dr. Reddy highlighted this during the launch of the Seed Processing and Storage Unit at the Sigatoka Research Station.

Dr. Reddy says they are doing everything possible to ensure that they meet the demand of the tourism sector and are having discussions with them to ensure they buy most of the produce from the local suppliers.

The Minister says they will be devising a number of other programs to engage stakeholders and all those involved in the supply chain to ensure that supply, the volume of supply, consistency in quality is improved and they are able to fulfill the demand of the tourism sector without withdrawing from the export market and in fact, further raise exports.

He also confirmed that they are re-looking at the entire agriculture paradigm to ensure that the agriculture model is sustainable.

He says for the first time ever, the non-sugar agriculture sectors export has surpassed $100 million. The Minister adds our exports in 2020 compared to 2019 increased by 26% in value and in the first 6 months of this year, they saw a rise in exports by 8%.