This was discovered by a business consultant helping Saipan farmers sell their produce to the U.S. military on Guam.
Paul Zak learned that vegetables and fruits from far away Hawaii and other states are more affordable on Guam because the military is paying for the air freight cost.
Zak said a copy of a contract indicates that the Northern Marianas, a U.S. commonwealth since 1978, is not on the list of origins of farm goods for which the military pays the air freight or shipping cost.
But the good news is that the military will buy Saipan’s farm goods at prices that include the shipping cost.
Due to proximity of Saipan, Tinian and Rota to Guam, the shipping cost is much lower compared to produce shipped from the mainland or Hawaii.
In the meantime, however, Saipan farmers will have to pay for the costs of shipping their crops to Guam.
Zak and Saipan farmer group’s president Anthony Pellegrino are in the process of chartering an aircraft that will send 1,000 pounds of Saipan farm products to Guam on weekly basis.
