SUVA (Oceania Flash) — Top agriculture representatives from member states of the Pacific Community have chosen such commodities as seaweed, giant clams, coral, pearl oysters, tilapia, macrobrachium shrimp, milkfish and sea cucumber as the “top eight” marine commodities that bear the highest potential for this region, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community said this week in a release.
The ranking came as a result of an SPC-organized workshop held earlier this month at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji.
One of the main criteria the participants—mainly agriculture officials—from some 22 Pacific island countries had to consider was the potential of 17 marine products on trade.
Another outcome of the meeting was a new strategic action plan, which prioritizes and sets out guidelines for each commodity, by country, for the next three years.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, during the exercise, will act as a focal point, in particular in terms of centralizing and facilitating exchange of information.
