Exports surpass K1.5bil

Business

THE country’s export of fish and fishery products surpassed K1.5 billion last year, according to the National Fisheries Authority (NFA).
Managing director John Kasu said this during the opening of the national fisheries judicial conference underway this week in Port Moresby.
“The importance of fisheries to Papua New Guinea and the economies of coastal and island communities cannot be understated,” he said.
“The export of fish and fishery products out of PNG in terms of quantity have continued to increase annually over the last years.
“Last year, the value of exports exceeded K1.5 billion for all fish and fishery products while from licensing, PNG earned close to K400 million.”
According to the authority’s website, in 2014, more than 103,000 tons of fish and fishery products were exported to overseas markets.
In 2019, the quantity of exports almost doubled-196,000 tonnes of products exported within five years with a total export value of K1.3 billion.
Fish and fishery exports included tuna in canned, frozen, dried meal forms; dried sea cucumber (bêche-de-mer), finfish, prawn and shrimp, sharkfin, lobster and crab.
Combined exports from the coastal fisheries sector comprised only 1 per cent of the total PNG fish and fishery exports.
The onshore-based tuna processing facilities and locally-based foreign vessels dominated the tuna exports and the total combined fish and fishery exports.
Most canned tuna products are exported to the European Union region with significant quantities of frozen whole round tuna either to resell or for further processing under the European Union tax free arrangement and ecolabelling certificate enjoyed by Parties to Nauru Agreement countries.
PNG canned tuna is also exported to Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu under the trade agreement signed by the leaders of Melanesian Spearhead Group countries.