Tuna export stifled
Growth for Papua New Guinea's tuna export is being stifled by high
fuel and air freight costs and insufficient air cargo space from the country,
according to Ludwig Kumoru, tuna manager for PNG's National Fisheries
Authority. He told The National newspaper that negotiations were in progress
for investment in more tuna processing factories in addition to a Philippines-owned
cannery at Madang, a newly opened loining plant at Wewak, and another loining
plant under construction at Lae. PNG exported 30,728 metric tonnes of frozen
tuna and 2097 metric tonnes of chilled tuna in 2002. Total fish exports
were valued at US$63.2 million‹with 95% of the fish going to Japan.
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| Tuna haul...high
freight and fuel costs stifling export in Papua New Guinea. |
More funds for Polynesian
Samoa's government says it will support the national airline, Polynesian,
with more money this year because the benefits the airline bring to the
country, especially tourism, outweigh the subsidy burden. The airline
got S$19.5 million from the government in 2003.
Cocoa pest worry
Papua New Guinea's cocoa industry is worried by the possibility of
the spread from West Papua of a borer pest that had devastated cocoa production
in some parts of South East Asia. The cocoa pod borer is said to be impossible
to detect. The National Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Authority and
Cocoa-Coconut Institute said if the borer crossed the border into Sepik
province, it would spread through the country to destroy 70-80% of cocoa
output. PNG's annual cocoa exports currently run at 40,000 tonnes
worth US$77 million . - ADVERTISEMENT -
China joins SPTO
China has become the 13th country member and the first non-Pacific Islands
country member of the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO). It will
be represented at government level at the next meeting of the region's
council of tourism ministers. China's ambassador in Suva, Cai Jinbiao,
went to SPTO's Suva headquarters to pay his country's US$75,000
membership fee. SPTO is the first of any of the region's 10 major
regional organisations to accept China as a full member. Chinese membership
was sought by the SPTO as a means of boosting its slender operating budget.
Invitations have also gone to Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, the
United States and India. For islands countries, Nauru, Palau, the Federated
States of Micronesia and Marshall Islands, have also been urged to join
China.
DRD listed on PNG stock exchange
South African gold miner Durban Roodeport Deep (DRD) will become the 13th
company listed on the Port Moresby Stock Exchange later this year. The
company has two gold mines in Papua New Guinea and is attempting to buy
control of the Emperor Gold Mine in Fiji.
Samoa bans use of air tanks
Samoa has banned the use of air tanks by fishermen to conserve fish stocks
and avert the deaths of untrained divers caused by attacks of the bends.
The government said compared with traditional free divers, tank equipped
fishermen were going deeper and taking more fish. At least two people
had been killed by the bends, for which there is no decompression treatment
available in Samoa.
Outrigger takes over Te Tiare
Hawaii's Outrigger Hotels and Resort group will take over the management
of the five-year-old Te Tiare Beach Resort at Huahine, French Polynesia,
from July 1. The 41-unit resort is owned by a local businessman.
Noni fruit gel for sunburn treatment?
A United States company, Tahitian Noni International, of Utah, claims
to have a noni fruit gel it says will compete head on against aloe vera
in the market for sun and wind burn treatments. It says the patented product
is a combination of noni fruit juice and noni leaf extract.
Turning colonial residence into a hotel
The Solomon Islands has signed an agreement with a Papua New Guinea hotel
company for the conversion of the former official residence of past British
colonial administrators and local governor-generals into a luxury hotel,
according to the Solomon Star newspaper. The residence is located on the
Honiara waterfront and is currently used as a national cultural centre.
Air Pacific flies to Canberra
Fiji's national airline, Air Pacific, from June will become the first
foreign airline to operate direct scheduled flights to the Australian
capital, Canberra. The twice-weekly service with a Boeing 737-700 jet
is aimed at the tourist market. The airline will resume flights to Christchurch,
New Zealand, on a seasonal schedule and has announced a big increase of
its seat capacity to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland.
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