Citrus farmers can make K4mil per hectare yearly: Kombuk

By PETER ESILA
A COMMERCIAL citrus farmer can make between K2.5 million to K4 million for one hectare per year, according to the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL).
DAL secretary Daniel Kombuk encouraged Papua New Guineans to start commercial farming with its highly improved commercial breed from the United States and three varieties from Israel.
Citrus includes oranges, mandarins, lemons and limes.
He said for an Israeli and United States lime varieties, a one hectare farmer could make K5 million to K6 million a year.
“Those are huge potential, unlike coffee, you have the coffee berry borer, it is affecting production and quality right now, and we have cocoa pod borer, which is affecting cocoa production.”
He said the domestic price of citrus products was high because they were coming from Australia and New Zealand where most were ripened artificially and harvested to ensure supply was constant.
He said this forced ripening tended to affect the quality of the crop.
He said citrus, especially oranges, were popular in PNG however retail pricing ensured it was not widely consumed.
He said citrus was a healthy fruit which provided vitamin C among its health benefits.
Kombuk said the department had highly improved commercial breeds from the US, and also from Israel to grow in PNG conditions in the Highlands.
“We have about 10 varieties from US and under recommendation for commercial production, and six varieties were given to PNG by Israel.
“Out of the six, we recommend three varieties for commercial production, and most of the locations in PNG are suitable for citrus production, because citrus grows in a desert, Israelis breed them, growing them along the Sea of Galilee, and released to tropical countries around the world, including PNG. If they can grow in a desert, they can also grow in places like Port Moresby,” he said.