It's An Example

[?] P-Ng Can, Why Not

Others?

It's An Example Of The Need For Information

By J. P. Shortall

low the South Pacific terri

r governments, through the

could promote small in

tries by making available

ilar and up-to-date market

rmation to the general pub

was demonstrated by a

>rt from Port Moresby in a ary. tE report told of how the New Guinea Registrar of Co operatives, Mr. G. Morris, had sloped from an ordinary rabbit an efficient device for bringing beche-de-mer from the sea om. (See PIM, Jan., p. 138). hat was perhaps more interest than the technical information )lied, was the news in this re that Papuan co-operatives are Iving 7/6 per pound for beche ler.

A Money-Maker

this is a fact it would appear plenty of other people in other s of the South Pacific are miss out on a useful money-maker, i several occasions in recent s Islands people have checked city merchants on the pos- Lties of this item and have ys been told that there is no set. le trouble is that many of the ?r Islands merchants are just interested in marketing these important items, and probably e no attempt to seek a market “heck on its possibilities. The 5 could be said for other minor id produce, which may not rep it big money but still might be ighly remunerative source of ings for a comparitively poor /e community here or there, or in enterprising trader prepared eal in more lowly items than a, cocoa and coffee.

No Guidance

ie present situation, however, (at the pe<pple who might deal these minor items have no of how to find a market and uidance as to what is and what )t valuable in the outside world . month to month. That is •e the SPC’s regular survey of ide range of produce markets

overseas could lend advice and en couragement.

At about the same time there was a report in New Zealand newspapers concerning Western Samoan banana pi eduction. It was suggested that if ever this production reached a level where the New Zealand fresh banana trade was saturated, then it might be possible to slice and can them, puree them, dry them, powder them, or otherwise process them.

This poses the question: why wait until that time?

If it can be shown that there is more money to be made, less ship ping problems, and less waste, in some method of processing bananas, surely it would be worthwhile estab lishing such industries now as a start in a policy of diversification. (See “An Imaginative Approach to Trade Boosting”, PIM, December, 1958.)