Growing coconut industry goes on show

PAPUA New Guinea’s growing coconut industry small and medium enterprises went on show at Alotau in Milne Bay last Friday.
The show – on World Coconut Day – ran alongside launching of the Coconut Industry Strategic Plan 2016-2025 in which the coconut industry will focus more on innovative products in partnership with the private sector as prices continue to drop for copra in the world market.
Kokonas Indastri Koporesen industry affairs manager Alan Aku said leading coconut SMEs in the country were invited to take part to showcase their products.
“We’ve started with six partners, and within two years we’ve gone up to 15 partners – who all produce high-value coconut products,” he told The National in Alotau.
“For the industry to be revived, it’s downstream processing, value-adding and production of high-value coconut products.
“The market is big for all the high-value coconut products.
“According to statistics from major producers – like Indonesia, the Phillipines, India and Sri Lanka – 90 per cent of the market is yet to be tapped. “That is with products like virgin coconut oil, coconut soap, coconut water, coconut sugar, coconut honey and flour and feedstocks.
“There are a number of products that coconut can provide and we’re using coconut to bring livelihood to the people, and also wealth creation for them.”
Aku said KIK was involved with SMEs that bought coconuts from the people and turned them into high-value products.
“The industry is going forward in that manner,” he said.