PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 3:14 PM by Luigi

Coconuts in PNG

A piece in The National yesterday discussed the visit to PNG by Dr Ponniah Rethinam, executive director of Asia Pacific Coconut Community (APPC). Dr Rethinan will be coming to Fiji in a couple of week.

PNG LOOKS TO BROADEN COCONUT INDUSTRY By Colin Taimbari

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Aug. 4) - The National Government and the Kokonas Indastri Koporesan (KIK) are looking at using other parts of the coconut to generate cash instead of relying only on copra. Executive officer Ted Sitapai said KIK would encourage producers to diversify after holding discussions with Dr Ponniah Rethinam, executive director of Asia Pacific Coconut Community (APPC). Agriculture Minister Moses Maladina agreed that lots of useful products could be extracted from the coconut and he was hoping that with more discussions, the government could look at promoting these other products.

Dr Rethinam said the palm tree popularly known as "Tree of Life", "Tree of Heaven" or "Nature's Supermarket" had a long history of providing man with useful materials for his daily life like food, drink, medicine, fuel, shelter and wealth. He said more than 100 products can be derived from the roots to the tops of the coconut for commercial purposes in homes, cottage industries as well as big industry.

Food products from the sap (juice) of the coconut include brown sugar, toffee, beverage, toddy, vinegar and confectionary jelly, which have huge markets in the United States and Asia. The young coconut can be canned as syrup, while mature coconut can be turned into desiccated coconut, low fat desiccated coconut, roasted coconut paste, sweetened coconut strips and coconut oil.
Dr Rethinam, on his first visit to PNG, said much more can be produced from a coconut including medicine for the heart and liver.
He said research has also shown and constant intake of the coconut juice can "remove or slow" down HIV/AIDS. "Coconut oil has been a life saver for many people. The health and nutritional benefits derived from coconut oil is unique and compelling. Coconut oil can play a very vital role in the removal of the HIV/AIDS virus," he said. He said the coconut oil was worth about US$439 million, while the desiccated coconut market was worth US$679 million.

Dr Rethinam said PNG was one of the largest producers of copra in the world but was falling behind due to various reasons.
He called on the PNG Government to encourage rural production, which could be done by individuals and families but the processing part should be done as a society or a community. He suggested that 10 to 15 integrated pilot projects in production and processing would create lots of employment and spin-offs and they should be wholly managed and run by those involved in production and processing of the coconut. "I will not accept that coconut is a dying industry, coconut industry can never die," he said. "The problem is we have never tapped the potential properly and fully and if we're not going to be competitive, we're going to die."



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DIVA-GIS	Monday, August 04, 2003 Posted 3:14 PM by Luigi Coconuts in PNG A piece in The National yesterday discussed the visit to PNG by Dr Ponniah Rethinam, executive director of Asia Pacific Coconut Community (APPC). Dr Rethinan will be coming to Fiji in a couple of week. PNG LOOKS TO BROADEN COCONUT INDUSTRY By Colin Taimbari PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Aug. 4) - The National Government and the Kokonas Indastri Koporesan (KIK) are looking at using other parts of the coconut to generate cash instead of relying only on copra. Executive officer Ted Sitapai said KIK would encourage producers to diversify after holding discussions with Dr Ponniah Rethinam, executive director of Asia Pacific Coconut Community (APPC). Agriculture Minister Moses Maladina agreed that lots of useful products could be extracted from the coconut and he was hoping that with more discussions, the government could look at promoting these other products. Dr Rethinam said the palm tree popularly known as "Tree of Life", "Tree of Heaven" or "Nature's Supermarket" had a long history of providing man with useful materials for his daily life like food, drink, medicine, fuel, shelter and wealth. He said more than 100 products can be derived from the roots to the tops of the coconut for commercial purposes in homes, cottage industries as well as big industry. Food products from the sap (juice) of the coconut include brown sugar, toffee, beverage, toddy, vinegar and confectionary jelly, which have huge markets in the United States and Asia. The young coconut can be canned as syrup, while mature coconut can be turned into desiccated coconut, low fat desiccated coconut, roasted coconut paste, sweetened coconut strips and coconut oil. Dr Rethinam, on his first visit to PNG, said much more can be produced from a coconut including medicine for the heart and liver. He said research has also shown and constant intake of the coconut juice can "remove or slow" down HIV/AIDS. "Coconut oil has been a life saver for many people. The health and nutritional benefits derived from coconut oil is unique and compelling. Coconut oil can play a very vital role in the removal of the HIV/AIDS virus," he said. He said the coconut oil was worth about US$439 million, while the desiccated coconut market was worth US$679 million. Dr Rethinam said PNG was one of the largest producers of copra in the world but was falling behind due to various reasons. He called on the PNG Government to encourage rural production, which could be done by individuals and families but the processing part should be done as a society or a community. He suggested that 10 to 15 integrated pilot projects in production and processing would create lots of employment and spin-offs and they should be wholly managed and run by those involved in production and processing of the coconut. "I will not accept that coconut is a dying industry, coconut industry can never die," he said. "The problem is we have never tapped the potential properly and fully and if we're not going to be competitive, we're going to die." * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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