K100mil for salaries paid: Exec

FISHERIES companies paid more than K100 million in salaries in 2020, according to statistics provided by the PNG Fisheries Industry Association.
Majestic Seafood Corporation Ltd general manager Napoleon Benitez said this during the EU-PNG business, trade and investment conference held this week in Port Moresby. Benitez said it constituted 10 per cent (K10 million) in goods and services tax (GST) and 8.5 per cent (K8.5 million) in national provident fund for superannuation contributions.
There are six fisheries processing companies in the country: RD Tuna, Frabelle PNG Ltd, IFC Ltd, Majestic Seafoods, Nambawan Seafoods and South Sea Tuna.
“There are six processors in PNG,” Benitez said.
“Our capacity is very close to 1,000 metric tonnes.
“I would say that this year, we would break that average.”
He said there were more than 10,000 employees, with 80 to 85 per cent women.
“Most of the time they (women) are involved in direct labour doing work on converting fish to the can.
“They are mostly high school graduates.
“We are not paying them in cash. We normally use ATMs. Part of our programme is to provide them with financial literacy (training) to be able to handle salary and wages.
“We bring in between K850,000 to close to K1 million fortnightly into the Lae economy. That alone will tell you how significant the contribution of the processors is particularly in Morobe.”
He said that last year, 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the total catch was processed by the six companies in the country.