By RITESHNI SINGH
of Ministry of Agriculture
Exports of fresh ginger to Australia will start from September this year and authorities are getting farmers ready to supply quality ginger for the export market.
Biosecurity Authority of Fiji chief executive, Waisiki Gonemaituba, said Fiji now has the opportunity to export fresh ginger to Australia.
He urged farmers and exporters to take advantage of this.
Farmers or exporters who have not yet registered for export have been asked to contact the Ministry of Agriculture’s Extension Division or Biosecurity officer, Satya Nand, for further details.
“Exports of fresh ginger will further enhance Fiji’s ginger export earnings,” Mr Gonemaituba said.
“These are currently received from the export of immature, processed ginger into Australia and US worth around $6 million dollars annually.”
The opening of the fresh ginger export market into Australia was facilitated earlier this year by the AusAID-funded Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Programme (PHAMA).
This was done in conjunction with the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Compliance being ensured
Mr Gonemaituba said the authority and the ministry formed a Ginger Taskforce that is working through the outstanding issues to ensure compliance with Australian import conditions.
“In particular, all fresh ginger exported to Australia must be fumigated with methyl bromide,” he said.
“Where fumigation treatments are conducted pre-export in Fiji, they must be performed at a registered treatment facility by an accredited treatment operator.”
Principal research officer Poasa Nauluvula (right) with exporters in the ginger field. Photo: MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE