The market research is envisaged to improve access of Pacific island papaya to overseas markets and also enable industry stakeholders to ascertain the demand for papaya in key overseas markets.
The first leg of the field visit, to Auckland, New Zealand, was undertaken by a three-member team consisting of Kyle Stice of Kokosiga, Sant Kumar of Nature’s Way Cooperative and Vinesh Prasad of FACT.
The visit was facilitated by the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission in Auckland.
During the team’s visit a number of fresh fruit importers, retailers and wholesalers were visited and interviewed. The team also met with dried fruit importers to gain insights into the possibility of adding value to their papaya by selling it in the form of dried fruits.
The next leg of the field study will be conducted in Australia, followed by visits to U.S. and Japan for the final segment in the research.
The detailed report of the research is expected to be presented to a papaya industry symposium to be held in April in Nadi, Fiji.
Interested parties from Fiji Islands and other Pacific Island countries and territories will be invited to participate in this symposium
Meanwhile, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community through its EU-funded Facilitating Agricultural Commodity Trade Project is assisting FRIEND with development of trade in its value-added agricultural produce.
An independent Technical Advisory Group selected FRIEND as one of 14 enterprises to receive technical and other assistance to improve its quality and range of products, especially dried fruits.
Fiji is oversupplied with unhealthy snack foods and poor diet this is contributing to the rise in lifestyle diseases, especially diabetes.
With SPC/FACT support it is envisaged that local cottage industries for nutritious tropical dried fruits can be developed by FRIEND.
To begin with, FACT has funded a value chain study of dried tropical fruits especially papaya, banana, mango and pineapple.
It is also supporting the developing state-of-the-art hybrid and solar driers to be used by FRIEND. These consultancies, undertaken by
Michael Finau-Brown and John Bennett, are currently in progress. Apart from these studies, Manasa Katonivualiku, FACT technical expert, has also been reviewing food safety, quality control and nutritional aspects of their “Fiji Style” Products.
FACT complements efforts aimed at enhancing regional cooperation and integration: this includes the policy commitment of European Union in the Cotonou Agreement in facilitating the integration of the Pacific ACP into the regional and global economies.
The FACT project is aimed at poverty alleviation and through FRIEND it aims to better target and reach the grass roots of the society in Fiji.
