Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Fiji Mahogany Industry Council Voreqe Bainimarama says they are taking steps now to competitively position Fijian mahogany in markets like USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Bainimarama highlighted this while officiating as chief guest in the Fiji Mahogany Trust Annual Board Meeting.
He says Fiji grows high quality mahogany, but without proper accreditation that quality does not guarantee growers anything where the market access is restricted and the price for timber is lower.
Bainimarama says some countries will not even purchase unaccredited hardwood at all.
He says Fiji’s plantations need to be properly accredited and they are committed to seeing that happen.
Bainimarama says some preliminary works have already begun.
The Prime Minister says the history of the mahogany industry is not all pretty as it is a long story marked by disappointment and scarred by corruption. He says with the money and machinery poured into the industry over the decades, Fijian mahogany should be a highly demanded global commodity, but it is not, as they are still paying for the many other missteps which includes the collapse of the Fiji Hardwood Corporation.
He says it is Fijian landowners and Fijian taxpayers who will suffer for that short-sightedness.
Bainimarama says he does not need to emphasise the importance of long-term planning to anyone in the business of growing mahogany as it takes more than 25 years for a tree to reach full maturity so they know taking a view of the long-term is part of the very nature of this business.
He says the Fiji Mahogany Trust’s new small loan initiative is off to a promising start but surely landowners are building capacity and business acumen among landowners to seize ownership over the actual process of production, creating employment for people and saving costs on sub-contracting.
He says they must carefully monitor and audit those loans to ensure they are generating solid returns.
Bainimarama says they must achieve a level of transparency that shows them funding is being used efficiently.
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