If production increases from 4,500 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes a year, Morobe may likely net K100 million a year.
According to the Cocoa Board of Papua New Guinea (CBPNG) chief executive officer Boto Gaupu, the profit of the province may increase if the tonnage is increased too.
“Morobe used to produce about 800 tonnes of cocoa in a year but over the last five years, that has gone up to 4,500 tonnes,” Gaupu said, adding that public-private partnership support is needed. “That is why CBPNG, in its remote cocoa freight subsidy programme initiative, is looking at partnering with stakeholders to help rural farmers in the cocoa producing provinces to transport their produce to established markets.”
Gaupu said CBPNG was bent on helping farmers get their produce to the market. “For Morobe in 2017, CBPNG paid some money for freight costs to NCA and today, is the replenishment of the funds depleted over the years in freighting services rendered by NCA in Morobe.”
The challenge, he said, was that farmers need to produce quality cocoa.
“With the government intervention to increase the cocoa price through its prize support programme, farmers will now receive farm gate price higher than the market price,” Gaupu said.
