In order for a food processing plant to do well, there has to be consistency in the supply of raw material to the factory, according to the Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
While handing over a truck to Food Processors (Fiji) Ltd last week on Friday, he said some produce which were being sold by the roadsides did not have specific plantations which could provide canning opportunities.
“So for example, you know, you canned duruka during the duruka season, that’s only for a few months,” he said.
“In Fiji, we don’t necessarily have plantation of duruka, a lot of it grows in the wild.
“In the same way, when we talk about breadfruit we don’t have breadfruit orchards, it grows and people go pick it up, and we don’t actually have farms that grow, breadfruit or ivi for that matter.”
He said the produce was available in the country however there were no actual plantations of them.
“That will give you consistency in supply and give you better pricing and be able to give you better supply to this factory.
“And then of course, you will have a much better production output,” said Mr Sayed-Khaiyum.
For Food Processors (Fiji) Ltd, even during the pandemic, the company had not sent home any workers.
“I would like to encourage the board and the management to look at the new incentive that Government provided.
“Under the new job scheme, we’re saying that if a company hires more new people, we will actually pay the minimum wage rates $2.68 an hour.
“So if the company goes and hires new people, for the next three months, we’ll pay the $2.68 if there is any additional amount to be paid the company pays that, it pays their FNPF.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said organisations such as the AMA and Food Processors (Fiji) Ltd could work more closely together as there was a lot of synergy which could be developed between those two organisations.
“Yesterday, I was at Navuso Agricultural Technical College where we had about 10 students who had graduated from the institute and government has partially funded the ability of these people to get individual land leases themselves.
“So they don’t just get trained at the technical college, but in this particular instance, they got a 50-year lease and it’s been paid for.”
He said these people with the proper title, could go to the Fiji Development Bank and get a loan, develop the farms, then be able to become a supplier for example to Food Processors (Fiji) Ltd.
