Taro locked up in the village as local business faces the challenge of huge freight cost

Lae based nationally owned company, Muruk Tropical Produce Limited (MTPR) is keen on exporting frozen taro overseas especially to the United States and Australian markets.

The company has been buying fresh taros from farmers in Morobe's five districts of Nawaeb, Huon Gulf, Markham, Finschafen and Lae, and Mt. Hagen for export. 

Managing Director of Muruk Tropical Produce Limited, Anna Wissink said they are determined to expand this market gap by buying more taros from the local farmers nationwide but the biggest challenge they face at the moment is the freight cost.

“We have been receiving requests from taro farmers across the country who want to sell their taros to us, but high freight cost is a serious issue that we are struggling with.

“The taros are there,  they are locked up in the village; we cannot move them to the market because of the freight cost. Our market in the USA wants us to supply eight 20-feet reefer of frozen taros a month- that is how big the market is.

“Our selling price for a 20-feet reefer (14 tons of frozen taro) to the USA is K136, 000 and to Australia is K126, 000. The market is there, the demand is there, the supply is there, and the farmers are willing to participate but freight is a serious issue,” said Ms Wissink.

Ms Wissink requested the Department of Agriculture look at the demand for taro, the cost of freight, and the level of subsidies that could be provided for taro alone to support taro farmers.

“We need Government’s immediate assistance to this infant export industry by a ways of freight subsidy,” said Ms Wissink.

International Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru when he recently met with MTPR Owner Anna Wissink in Lae said exporting Papua New Guinea frozen taros abroad, is a step forward and he promised to raise the freight cost issue with the agriculture minister for consideration.

Our short-term goal is to provide freight subsidy for taro alone and the long-term goal is to go into large-scale commercial taro farming in Morobe and expand to other provinces as the demand grows.

“The last thing we want is to kill the market opportunity by not being able to deliver more taros to meet the demand because it is difficult to get the taro to Lae due to high cost of freight.

“We need to support our SMEs like Muruk Tropical Produce Limited and our taro farmers just like how we have supported our coconut, coffee, and cocoa farmers in the freight subsidy,” Maru said.