A resounding challenge that many presenters talked about at the last day of the 14th World Indigenous Business Forum on Thursday 26th October, was the need to find suitable markets for indigenous products.
These similar sentiments were also shared by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Cocoa Board, Mr. Jesse Anjen, who was part of a panel from the cocoa industry in the country that presented their topic at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby.
Anjen said they hear a lot of stories of cocoa farmers, carrying their bags of produce and climbing mountains and crossing flooded rivers, just to reach a market.
“This is where the PNG Cocoa Board needs to come in. We need to mobilize our Indigenous Cocoa Farmers and find a market where they can enjoy a better and higher price for their produce.”
He explained that there is a demand for cocoa worldwide that stands at 5 million tones; a demand that grows by 5% each year.
“Almost all of the cocoa that goes out of the country, is produced by Indigenous farmers and the worldwide demand for cocoa is the exact opportunity that they need.”
“So, we have to co-operate with our Indigenous farmers to not just increase the volume, but also add value to our cocoa produce.”
Anjen topped off by saying that such forums as the WIBF, were the spaces where they can secure new markets and form new partnerships to better serve the indigenous cocoa farmers.