Market opportunities identified but action required
03 September 2012
In June 2012, at the Trade Pasifika exhibition in Fiji, panel discussions were organised to facilitate private sector understanding of trade opportunities for Pacific producers. A variety of opportunities were identified. The region’s trade and investment representative to China, Samu Savou, identified good market opportunities for off-season pawpaw and hybrid mango exports, while exports of 100% noni juice to the traditional Chinese medicine sector were already under way.
Opportunities were also identified in New Zealand for pawpaw, pineapple, desiccated coconut and gluten-free flour, and Papua New Guinea (PNG) was already exporting premium-priced fine cocoa to gourmet chocolate manufacturers in Australia.
The discussions identified a number of important issues to be addressed, including:
- ensuring consistent quality and supply;
- improved packaging and labelling as a prerequisite for agricultural exports;
- securing the necessary certification and SPS approval for exports to commence.
In this context, Samu Savou noted that currently no Pacific Island country has concluded agricultural export protocols with China. He urged potential exporters to work with national governments to ‘catalyse the development of bilateral agricultural export protocols with China to tap into the market’. Earlier, at a Ministerial-level forum in May, the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat had identified the ‘proximity of Asia’ as providing real prospects and opportunities for growth in intra-regional trade, particular in ‘high-value niche market products’.
An earlier panel discussion noted the slow progress in implementation of regional trade agreements, particularly in PNG, the PICs largest market. This was held to have adversely impacted on trade volumes under PICTA. However, while progress was slow, it was noted that ‘those who traded under these agreements were making important headway’.
Opportunities for increased trade were also seen to exist under the Melanesian Spearhead Group Trade Agreement.
Editorial comment
Of the market opportunities recently identified for Pacific exporters, those in Australia and New Zealand are being taken advantage of, and some success is being achieved in trading in niche products. This has served to underline the importance of cooperation between governments, private sector and development partners in expanding both trade and the diversity of beneficiaries from such trade.
The inability to exploit opportunities on the Chinese market, arising from the absence of bilateral agricultural export protocols, underlines the critical role of governments in ensuring that the relevant enabling environment is created for the private sector to operate and develop trade. However, in addition in exporting to Asian markets, specific supply constraints exist linked to a lack of trade infrastructure, particularly transportation infrastructure. This suggests a need for increased investment in infrastructure as part of any efforts to reorient trade towards Asia.
FTA negotiations can offer opportunities to address regulatory and administrative constraints on exploiting identified market opportunities, through the negotiation of specific provisions and the establishment of a range of flanking measures. However it is unclear to date to what extent FTA negotiations have in practice concretely contributed towards addressing the specific constraints faced in the agro-food product sectors, as additional bilateral accords (e.g. on SPS issues) are often required to ensure market access.
