Rice supply propaganda debate picks up

WHEN it comes to food security, the picture of rice as an imported staple food portrays a serious life and death situation to our people.
If the supply is cut from the traditional sources due to natural or man-made disasters, more than half of PNG would starve as the response to other staple food crops to feed the population is inelastic.
In other words, the response to other substitutes to supply will be more than six months to plant enough kaukau, yams, bananas and so on.
For too long we have been patronising Trukai Industries Limited, owned by Australian Rice Cooperatives through legislation under the Pure Goods Act for PNG to only import vitamin enriched rice produced and supplied by Trukai.
In recent times, the production of rice in Australia had declined and Trukai has been importing the grains from Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.
Trukai Industries has not been serious about domestic rice cultivation, processing and distribution. It has monopolised the domestic rice market estimated at K600 million a year without ploughing any money back to make PNG self sufficient in rice production.
It is a shame for the Trukai Industries to lobby against the new bold initiative by a Indonesian entrepreneur to ensure PNG has food security in rice.
It is a life and death matter and should not be used as a joke to draw on arguments on exclusivity and monopoly. There are always grounds for good monopoly and exclusivity.

Ray Mau
NCD