Tax halts downstream processing

By DALE LUMA
PNG Manufacturers Council chief executive officer Chey Scovell says finance and high taxes are some of the main issues in downstream processing of PNG products.
Scovell told The National that downstream processing was a capital intensive business that needed a lot of money.
He said the Government should also look at decreasing corporate tax and goods and services tax.
Scovell said good infrastructure in terms of roads needed to be a Government priority and this would enable products to be transported easily and cheaply.
He said the current Government freight subsidy was not sustainable and was also driving people to steal from coffee and cocoa gardens to take advantage of subsidy to ship and sell produce.
Prime Minister James Marape, who visited the Queen Emma chocolate factory at Paradise Foods Ltd, encouraged business to go into downstream processing to strengthen the economy and support the domestic industry.
Marape was told the company still imported corn for some of its products, which he said could be supplied by local growers.
“This factory needs (local) corn,” he said.
“I just came out of a processing line that is importing corn.
“We can grow corn in PNG.”
Marape was excited to see the company being innovative, creating jobs and focusing production locally.
He said the Queen Emma chocolate production proved that the country could move from exporting raw materials to making value-added products.
“We want to go downstream to certify our local market, as well as export to economies around us,” he said.
“I am happy to see an industry that has been in existence outside of political motivation and incentives.
“They have been at work since 1945.
“I am totally overwhelmed.
“And if there is any way that the Government can assist whether it is incentives to fiscal support in these tough times.”