Suppliers want facilities to keep produce fresh

The National Business
Janet Gena (left) and Dorris Olam getting their fresh produce ready to be transported to Port Moresby. Carriers are loading the bags of supplies from a truck into a shipping container. A carrier is normally paid between K3 and K5 to shift a bag. – Pictures supplied

By KELVIN JOE
FARM produce suppliers from the Highlands, Gulf and Central want proper facilities in Port Moresby to store the produce they send to keep them fresh for consumers, a farmer says.
Sinasina-Yongomugl supplier Janet Gena said the Government, especially the National Capital District Commission, should have a proper storage space at a central location, with gold chain facility.
“If the Government establishes proper marketing facilities for us, it will greatly benefit us in terms of profit and to increase our supplies to meet the demand of Port Moresby’s customers,” Gena said.
“This will help our supplies retain quality, freshness and durability to sell them in the best state at an affordable price.
“Sometimes we make a loss or less profit due to poor storage. We have been providing opportunities to church groups and unfortunate ones through labour mobility like packers and carriers to meet their daily needs in Lae and Port Moresby.”
She made the comment following the Jan 10 civil unrest where shops were looted and burned affecting businesses.
“I lost three containers of kaukau, cabbage, carrots and potatoes during the mayhem in Port Moresby,” she added.

Church groups and farmers in Sinasina-Yongomugl, Chimbu, harvesting carrots for the Port Moresby markets.

Janet and husband Chris Gena have been supplying Port Moresby markets via Lae with farm produce from their five-acre farm in Sinasina-Yongomugl since 2020.
“We started with a small farm in 2018 and after seeing the success and benefits, we decided to buy more land and extend our farm,” she told The National.
The Gena family normally sends between 120 and 150 bags of fresh produce every week.
She said a container of farm produce would cost up to K11,000 before it reached the market in Port Moresby.
“The costs include labour, fuel and transportation, seedlings, fertilizers and pest control chemicals,” she said.
“When our sales are good, we can make between K20,000 and K30,000 from a single container.”