Photo credit: PNG Facts
A potential large-scale rice farming company in the Philippines will be sending a delegation to Papua New Guinea in November this year to evaluate the country’s potential for large-scale rice farming in Central Province.
Richard Maru, the minister for international trade and investment, emphasised this as one of his accomplishment goals during a recent visit to the Philippines.
They were asked by Minister Maru to travel to Papua New Guinea to consider starting a commercial rice farm.
“PNG needs to identify up to 90,000 hectares of land to grow rice in order to produce the rice initially to feed our own population and to export the surplus back to the Philippines,” he said.
“We will be working very closely with the Central Governor and the leaders from the Central Province to assist us in identifying land in Central Province to grow rice on a large scale.
“It would also be a great opportunity for the landowners when we are talking about a K800 million per year rice import replacement opportunity.”
Despite having a long-standing connection, PNG and the Philippines have not yet signed a trade agreement or an economic partnership agreement.
The long-pending double tax treaty, the free trade agreement, and technical assistance from the Philippines to PNG for the development of Special Economic Zones and downstream processing support, particularly in commercial rice farming, were also agreed upon by the two nations. They also agreed to hold their first trade meeting.
Mr. Maru stated that until more progress is made in the bilateral trade and investment relationship, trade discussions between the two nations are anticipated to be held every six months.
Concerningly, while PNG does not offer an on-arrival visa, the Philippine government does for Papua New Guineans entering the Philippines.
According to Mr. Maru, the PNG government should investigate the possibility of offering on-arrival visas to Filipino visitors to PNG in order to increase cross-border interactions.
Following confirmation from the government of the Philippines, the first trade meeting is scheduled to take place during the first week of November.
Reference: Post-Courier (3 October 2022). “Investor Keen On Rice Farming”.
