The Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Rural & Maritime Development, and National Disaster Management, Hon. Joeli Cawaki is leading a delegation at the 52nd Asia and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) Session and Ministerial meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The meeting is being hosted by the Ministry of Trade of the Indonesian Government and will run from 23-26 May, 2016.
The Session was opened by the Hon. Minister of Trade for Indonesia, H.E. Thomas T. Lembong, who provided the inaugural address to more than 50 delegates from 18 countries represented at the Session.
In his opening address, H.E. Lembong stated that the strategic direction of the APCC should be to ensure that the coconut industry continues to portray the premium nature of the product. In this spirit, it must be marketed as a niche product for the high-end of the market and effort must be taken not to commoditize it as a bulk product.
The Ministers from the member countries deliberated on 4 key agenda items during the Ministerial Session:
(i) Expanding APCC from a Regional Organization to an International Inter Government Body;
(ii) International Market Facilitation for Coconut Products;
(iii) Establishment of International Centre of Excellence for Coconut; and
(iv) International Collaboration on Clinical Studies into the Nutrition and Health Benefits of Coconut Products.
All agenda items were debated thoroughly and endorsed by the Ministers. The APCC will work on these agenda items as part of the forthcoming calendar of activities.
Hon. Cawaki thanked the Indonesian government for hosting the Session and took the opportunity to relay the Fijian government’s appreciation of Indonesia’s assistance in the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts following Tropical Cyclone Winston.
The Fijian delegation also presented an overview of Fiji’s coconut industry and highlighted the impact of TC Winston on the sector.
“The monetary value of the loss in the coconut industry is estimated at $8 million. While efforts are underway to rehabilitate the industry, bringing the industry to full production may take 4-6 years,” Hon Cawaki said.
“Other challenges in Fiji’s coconut industry included the country’s distance from overseas markets, the distance between smaller islands within the country as well as lack of appropriate infrastructure especially on smaller islands.”
Hon. Cawaki reiterated that Fiji needs to align more closely with big coconut producers in the Asia/Pacific Region because of their advanced technology and in-depth technical knowledge of the crop.
The Assistant Minister added that Fiji was actively considering fast-tracking some key issues such as; the formation of manageable units (Associations/Clusters), clearing of senile palms, planting and replanting of high-yielding varieties, crop and product diversification, developing local demand, improving preparedness to Climate Change and strengthening market access through Fiji’s bilateral relations.
At the Session, the Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Jitendra Singh was also appointed to the APCC Technical and Policy Advisory Group, which will provide technical and policy advice, coordinate the development of relevant projects and program proposals and facilitate identification of fund sources and generate funds to support APCC approved projects. There are six other members in the Group.
In addition, Dr. Paula Vivili of the Public Health Division of South Pacific Community was appointed as the Pacific Island’s representative to the Scientific Advisory Group, which will be responsible for an international collaboration with multi-country and multi-ethnic approach on clinical studies into the nutrition and health benefits of coconut products.