O'NEILL : PNG TRYING TO FOCUS ON EXPORTING QUALITY FOOD

Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill says the country is trying to build a modern and internationally competitive agriculture sector. He told the opening session of the Codex Committee for North America South West Pacific region in Kokopo yesterday that PNG’s membership of Codex was something the Government took seriously to strengthen systems which would ensure food safety.

“We want to have healthy people who eat safe and nutritious food that provide the quality of life we all deserve. And we want the food that we export to have a reputation of being fresh and safe.” More than 50 participants are attending the international meeting in Kokopo, including Canada, Tonga, New Zealand, PNG, Australia, Samoa, USA, Cook Islands, Nauru, Vanuatu, Federated State of Micronesia, Fiji, Switzerland, Solomon Islands and Kiribati.

Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill said having food quality and food safety products based on clear scientific research provided a strong basis on which to generate consensus and ensure compliance. “The diversity brings different challenges in relation to the production, processing and trade in food,” he said. “If we do not get these issues right, our people will suffer in several ways – in their daily health which affects communities and raises health care costs and the economics loss if we cannot trade our food overseas.”