Zavath Seafood Limited, a subsidiary of Zavath Holdings Limited, made history on the 13th of October as it became the first locally owned company in Papua New Guinea to export its first seafood product, crab, to the Singapore Market on 14 October.
Present to announce its operations to the media and the country at its operating office in Taurama was Mr. Alphonse Wong Parpa, the founder and managing director of Zavath Seafood Limited.
Mr. Parpa said he had the idea of selling seafood products after seeing local Papua New Guineans struggling to sell their seafood, which usually takes them a whole length of time to sell in the market. He wanted to create an avenue where all seafood products could be purchased efficiently.
"I want to sell premium quality seafood for the world, and it will be starting with crabs for now."
He further explained that the name Zavath was derived from the Hebrew word meaning "the promised land" and that Papua New Guinea “has a lot to offer.”
The company has established a modern state-of-the-art seafood facility at Taurama Valley, Port Moresby, and is recognized by the national government as a model for setting "One Stop Shop for Seafood Trading Centre" in Papua New Guinea to supply the world with premium seafood products.
In March, the National Fisheries Authority signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Zavath Seafoods Limited to distribute seafood in Singapore alongside its Singapore company One Solomon Pte. Ltd., which will store, repackage, and sell the Seafood to the Asian markets once they arrive from the Taurama Seafood facility in Port Moresby.
In September during Independence Eve, Zavath Seafoods Limited was able to secure an order of over 500 kg of mud crab on the first seafood show in Singapore.
The company now will have a first test trial of the market, and later will be able to involve local Papua and Guineans in the sale of crab per kilo once the price has been determined.
So far the company has been harvesting crabs at their local farm in Gavuone in the Central Province and has plans to include other maritime provinces once the company expands.
An official date is yet to be set for the opening of the facility, which the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea has been formally invited to launch it.
