Govt aims to reduce imports and boost agriculture

THE Government is partnering with major businesses to reduce imports, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says.
O’Neill said the government was investing in several agricultural commodities.
“Government is already partnering major firms in areas of agricultural production, particularly in rice and commodities like coffee, copra and palm oil,” he said.
He said investments had been made in provinces such as East Sepik, Hela, Southern Highlands and Central.
He told the Australia-PNG Business Forum and Trade Expo in Port Moresby yesterday that the Government would continue to support the delivery of important resource projects.
“We are continuing to support the delivery of major projects throughout our country. We will deliver on our second LNG with Total and we will deliver the two major mining projects, particularly Wafi-Golpu and Frieda projects,” he said.
“These are important to the PNG economy as well as Australia. We will continue to provide opportunities for many of our businesses in both countries.”
He said the lessons of the recent commodity prices downturn would deliver some tough lessons for PNG.
“Our economy has been indeed held ransom by the boom and bust of the resource sector,” he said.
“Fortunately for PNG, that is changing. We are reshaping our economy, to broaden our economic base, moving away from this boom and bust society.
“At the hype of the global energy prices, our government received revenue well over K2billion per annum. At the drop of energy prices, our revenue declined to K200million per annum. State revenue should not continue to be undermined by such.”