Update: 3:39PM THERE is hope for the local coconut industry following the opening of a new whole nut processing centre in Taveuni.
Officiating at the event, Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said the
facility hosted at the Taveuni Coconut Centre would operate as a
small to medium commercial enterprise, provide jobs and contribute to the local
economy.
"We
want to demonstrate different ways that coconuts can be used to earn a living,
so that Fijians in rural communities have an additional strand of income," he said.
Commodore Bainimarama said although the
transformation of the coconut industry would not happen overnight, the new facility was an effort to breathe new life into the industry and create new opportunities for domestic
and international trade and investment.