Nature's Way Cooperative Fiji Ltd (NWC) CEO, Michael Brown, said most of its exporters are facing increased costs, which can threaten their ability to export. "Due to the damage caused to farms, exporters have to include a larger number of suppliers in order to get the same volume of exports, this affects the labour and transport costs associated with buying produce as well as biosecurity-related registration costs."

The business is involved in the export of papaya, eggplant and breadfruit.

Some of the concerns Brown raised included cost overheads. "Due to the reduced supply, exporters are sending smaller volumes of fruit however, their overheads remain the same and therefore the overall cost per unit has increased significantly.

"It is envisioned that through this stimulus package scheme, exporters will be able to encourage farmers to rehabilitate and replant resulting in an increase in volume to a scale that is economically viable and sustainable," he said.

Initially, a small enterprise that handed just 30 tonnes of papaya each year, NWC treats and packs about 1200 tonnes of papaya, mango, breadfruit and eggplant, annually.

Source: www.fijitimes.com