Photo credit: Loop PNG
According to the National Fisheries Authority, the country's fish and fisheries goods exports exceeded K1.5 billion last year (NFA).
This was said by managing director John Kasu during the beginning of the national fisheries judicial conference, which is now taking place in Port Moresby.
“The importance of fisheries to Papua New Guinea and the economies of coastal and island communities cannot be understated,” he said.
“The export of fish and fishery products out of PNG in terms of quantity has continued to increase annually over the last years.
“Last year, the value of exports exceeded K1.5 billion for all fish and fishery products while from licensing, PNG earned close to K400 million.”
More than 103,000 tons of fish and fisheries products were shipped to international markets in 2014, according to the authority's website.
In 2019, exports nearly quadrupled to 196,000 tonnes of items, with a total export value of K1.3 billion, in only five years.
Tuna in canned, frozen, and dry meal forms, dried sea cucumber (bêche-de-mer), finfish, prawn and shrimp, sharkfin, lobster, and crab were among the fish and fisheries exports.
The combined exports from the coastal fisheries industry accounted for barely 1% of overall PNG fish and fishery exports.
Tuna exports and total combined fish and fisheries exports were dominated by onshore-based tuna processing facilities and locally-based foreign vessels.
The majority of canned tuna goods are sent to the European Union region, along with substantial amounts of frozen whole round tuna for resale or further processing, thanks to the European Union's tax-free agreement and ecolabelling certificate that Parties to the Nauru Agreement enjoy.
Under a commercial deal agreed by the presidents of the Melanesian Spearhead Group countries, PNG canned tuna is also shipped to Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
Reference: The National (3 November 2021). “Exports surpass K1.5bil”.
