26 Sep 2017

Fiji keen to cut fruit imports

9:02 am on 26 September 2017

Fiji's agriculture minister Inia Seruiratu says reducing fruit and vegetable imports is a priority of the government.

The minister spoke at the launch of a new guava variety in Sigatoka.

Guava had not been a commercially cultivated crop but according to the minister, the new variety provides farmers with a chance to grow a new crop at commercial scale.

Mr Seruiratu said Fiji continues to import fruits such as oranges, apples, pears and grapes while locally it could source traditional fruits such as banana, pineapple, papaya and mangoes.

He said there are a number of challenges and these include producing quality product in the right quantity consistently throughout the year.