PNG’s coconut industry backed

THE coconut industry has the potential to generate more than K500 million annually, according to Kokonas Industries Korporation (KIK) managing director Allan Aku.
“The earning potential is there, but people have not realised money being generated already in the country,” he said.
“The coconut industry has been on the back stage for many year, and recently we realised that coconut was more than the other commodities, as one can produce 103 high-value coconut products.
“This is also a food item, because everyday families scrape coconut to eat.
“We estimate that 380 million coconuts are eaten annually in the country.
“If you put a kina value on that, you create K380 million in the domestic market a year. We all know that inflation has taken its toll and prices have risen, but I’m being conservative.”
He said annually “we generate K150 million from exports”.
“And based on the local market consumption rate of K380 million annually, you are talking about a K500m industry with potential to go higher with growing demand,” he added.
“Every commodity is measured against its exports and we forget that we also eat the product in the country.”
The corporation is diversifying its coconut products and creating high value products to generate income.
This is to enhance the value of coconut products from the traditional production method and create more income generation for the corporation and farmers. KIK introduced the process of making coconut oil which is sold to farmers who further diversify it into cosmetics like coconut soap, oil, body lotions and spray.
The coconut husks are being used to generate square fibre and dust, which are called cocoa bead, used for seed germination, and the shell to create activated carbon and charcoal.