WELLINGTON: AS the export produce market continues on its post 2012 natural disaster recovery trend, papaya and eggplant exports are showing improved figures.
Since the devastation caused by two floods and Tropical Cyclone Evan in 2012, eggplant exports has increased from 383,244kg in 2013 to 518,968kg last year.Papaya exports have gone from 246,240kg in 2013 to 452,505kg last year.
And in a bid to improve exports, Nature’s Way Co-operative Ltd, a Nadi-based produce treatment facility, has collaborated with New Zealand Aid, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, EU and Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Co-operation to train export industry stakeholders.
“These trainings help promote a new way of thinking where each actor nurseryman, farmer, transporter and exporter does not operate in isolation,” said Nature’s Way CEO Michael Brown.
“Instead they recognise that they are part of a larger team that must work together in order to fulfil the requirements of our customers.”Mr Brown added the specific objectives of the training included identifying all the actors in the chain, their roles and how each contributed to the final product and the returns they would receive.