The world gets a taste of the tropics

Recognising the potential for development of Fiji’s natural resources of fruits, vegetables and marine life, the govern ment, in 1971, established the National Marketing Authority.

The NMA today establishes and administers national policy for balancing supply and de mand of the products within Fiji and also for the rapidly deve loping export markets.

The original efforts of the NMA were directed at facilitat ing the movement of agricultu ral products from the outer, more remote, islands to the population centres of the two main islands with the ultimate goal of a more equitable distribution of national income.

Soon afterwards, however, the authority undertook several new programs aimed at the overall development of agricul ture and fisheries to cater for increasing local demand, to

promote local self-sufficiency and, in many product areas, to reduce Fiji’s dependence on imports and to cater for the emerging export markets.

Over the past few years, Fiji’s exports have expanded signifi cantly, partly as a result of the NMA effort.

Representatives have taken part in several overseas trade displays to promote Fiji’s wide variety of tropical fruits and vegetables.

Much of Fiji’s produce under the name “A Taste of the Tropics” is familiar worldwide. Items such as coco nuts, papayas, mangos, yams, avocados and chillies grow in abundance.

Other products such as taro, cassava and breadfruit, while less widely known, have proven popular exports to countries with well established Pacific and Caribbean island communities.

But possibly Fiji’s most note worthy success has been with ginger exports. Fiji ginger is considered among the best in the world and the NMA ships ginger raw, crystallised, dried or in syrup form.

While having exported main ly fresh fruits and vegetables until fairly recently, the authority has identified a rapid ly increasing worldwide de mand for “consumer pack aged” goods.

Accordingly, in a joint ven ture with a private Fiji com pany, Wise Seafood Exports, the authority began processing and packaging a wide variety of agricultural products using combinations of gas flushing and/or vacuum packing.

This venture is proving to be highly successful, with top qua lity produce being shipped daily to world markets under the

label ’’Food from Paradise.”

Today the NMA is a major economic force in Fiji, em ploying over 100 staff in 10 offices throughout the country.

Annual sales are in excess of $3 million and the authority now regularly ships more than ten products to centres in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Japan, Europe and other South Pacific nations.

NMA chief executive, Ratu Epeli Kanaimawi, points proud ly to NMA achievements and optimistically predicts exports of over $5O million in the not-so distant future.

For complete information about the extensive variety of tropical fruits and vegetables available, the National Market ing Authority can be contacted at PO Box 5085, Raiwaqa, Suva, Fiji. Telephone 385888, telex FJ2413.