The Papua New Guinean Government has decided to ban round log export by 2025.
Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru, made this known to Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Liew Chin Tong, at the margins of the APEC Trade Ministers Meeting in Detroit, in the United States.
Maru also invited Malaysian investors, especially those that have experience in global forestry product market, to come and invest in this sector.
“The agriculture and manufacturing industries in PNG have grasped the interest of the Malaysian investors and further extended the invitation to Malaysian investors to invest in PNG’s proposed SEZ sites,” Maru said.
Meanwhile, Minister Maru will visit Malaysia straight after the APEC meetings to meet with his counterpart Minister and potential investors who are interested in investing in coconut, palm oil, cattle, and manufacturing sector in PNG.
Plans have advanced to a point where Minister Maru will be in Malaysia to finalize discussions for two new coconut oil refineries to be built in Madang and Kokopo this year so PNG will for the first time, cease exporting crude coconut oil from the oil mills in Madang and in Rabaul.
“This exciting development will signal the start of the Marape Government’s efforts to downstream produce all our agriculture raw materials to final products to meet our own local demand and export to markets in other countries,” said Minister Maru.