Maru bent on Fiji trade cut

By SHIRLEY MAULUDU
TRADE, Commerce and Industry Minister Richard Maru insists that the country must consider severing trade with Fiji.
Maru, pictured, was responding yesterday to a statement by his Fiji counterpart Faiyaz Koya who told the Fiji Sun that Fiji would not circumvent or bend its biosecurity laws and accept some PNG goods.
Koya said Fiji and PNG were part of the Melanesian Spearhead Group agreement which had a facilitation aspect with respect to biosecurity.
He said this was where the matter should be addressed.
But Maru yesterday told The National that PNG would not waste any more time talking to Fiji.
“PNG will make a firm decision now,” he said.
“We have wasted enough time talking to Fiji.
“We have wasted 15 years getting this corrected. It’s time to take some serious, hard stance.
“I have written to him (Koya) but he has never responded.
“I have always tried to follow protocol in dealing with this trade matters, but they have never responded.
“I do not want to talk with him on that anymore.”
Last month, the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji issued a statement outlining conditions which had to be complied with is Trukai Rice, Ox and Palm corned beef and Lae Biscuits were to be accepted in Fiji.
“BAF will allow up to 10kg/22.04lbs of each product to be imported into Fiji for personal consumption per individual person,” BAF said in the statement.
Maru recently said this did not include reciprocal investments the two countries had.
“We have investments in Fiji and Fiji has investments in Papua New Guinea. We have no issues with that. We are talking purely the trading of goods.”
PNG through the Mineral Resources Development Company owns and run the Pearl Resort and the adjoining golf club at Pacific Harbour outside Suva.