Pacific Seafood and Technology Exposition 2017

The main aim, to bring together SMEs and established companies dealing in seafood, saw 25 local SMEs – two of which were PNG’s big tilapia farmers, participate.

The event presented the opportunity for them to grow their network and learn useful skills such as labelling, packaging and boxing for better product presentation.

The technology part of the show also saw big players, mostly from the Asian region, displaying their machinery such as ice making machine, filleting machines, small canning machines, etc.

This is to enable SMEs involved in the fishing industry, to prepare, process and export their products to the market.

The announcement was made yesterday by the Minister for Fisheries, Patrick Basa, when officiating at the Pacific Seafood and Technology Exposition 2017.

He said this will be captured in NFA’s program and budget for the next 3 years, commencing in 2018.

Basa noted the struggle of local seafood companies in developing and bringing products to their markets to meet the demand, or consistency, in their supply.

The industry, which started 20 years ago with sole investor RD Tuna in Madang, is concerned that history is repeating itself.

Fabian Chow of PNG Fishing Industry Association says building up the industry required a lot of sweat, dedication and risk-taking.

And once more, Chow says the industry is facing another threshold today.

“We don’t know if we will survive the tough times that we are headed towards. Costs are increasing, kina is short and everything is harder than it was 20 years ago. There’s pain and we need fine tuning in order to survive,” he said.

After years of participating in international expositions, a more reasonable step has been taken to bring international visitors into the pacific.

This has resulted in the first ever Pacific Seafood and Technology Exposition 2017, currently underway in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

The event has brought together local, regional and international companies involved in the fish business.