PMIZ won’t work unless there is fish to process: RD Corporation Chairman

Plans to develop the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone [PMIZ] will not work unless the Joint Venture [JV] company has fish to process.

Chairman of RD Corporation Roy Rivera says they are still struggling to meet the demand of their customers both domestically and internationally.

“In PNG, we cannot meet the local market demand because we are not able to produce enough canned fish with our current capacity, and we are also not able to meet our international market demand.

“Currently our business split is 40 percent domestic and 60 percent international. With our own fishing fleet under this JV, we are confident that we will be able to increase the supply of fish so we can process more fish to meet our domestic and international market demand,” Rivera said.

Meanwhile under the proposed JV, RD is offering 645 hectares of land in Vidar, Madang, to be jointly owned by the State and RD under the JV Company.

Mr. Rivera says it's an important step because the PMIZ and PNG’s dream to be the ‘Tuna Capital’ of the world will not happen unless they have all the complimentary services that the fisheries sector will need including water supply, shops, dry dock, slipway, international wharf, etc.

“That is why we are making our land available,” Rivera said.

“We are now talking to Kumul Consolidated Holdings [KCH] to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) over the next two weeks to work with them to develop a Masterplan for our proposed SEZ.

“We cannot develop new canneries and processing plants without water and power supply, and a new international wharf.

“These are the areas of expertise that KCH has which we want to lean on, so a partnership with KCH for us is so critical at this stage.

“We want to go out on international tender in partnership with KCH for a development of a Masterplan for our 645 hectares of land together with the land that National Fisheries Authorities [NFA] owns so we can make our shared dream of making PNG the ‘Tuna Capital’ of the world.

International Trade and Investment Minister, Richard Maru says the fishing JV is a new step for the Government to chart into uncharted waters.

“There are risks involved and it is important that the State Negotiating Team [SNT] in its negotiations is able to give confidence to the government when it presents the submission that this JV will minimize risks to the State and that it has a chance to succeed,” says Minister Maru.

PNG loses billions in US dollars due to lack of Fisheries Domestication Policy

Meantime PNG is continuing to lose billions in US dollars from the fisheries industry in revenue inflows because it does not have a Domestication Policy.

80 percent of fish caught in the PNG Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ] is processed and sold in other countries in US Dollars due to the absence of this Policy

RD Group Chairman, Roy Rivera revealed that over 60 per cent of RD’s business is done in US Dollars because it processes the fish in PNG and sells to Europe and the US market as premium canned tuna under their various brand names.

“Imagine how much US Dollars PNG could be making if all the fishing companies were processing fish into semi and final products and exporting to other countries in US Dollars,” Mr. Rivera said.

He said as the first fishing company in PNG, they commended this government [Marape-Rosso] for finally making a very bold decision after 49 years to bring in a Domestication Policy where all fish caught in PNG is processed in PNG.

He said this will significantly increase PNG’s earnings in US Dollars and really contribute to minimizing the US Dollar crisis that PNG is struggling with.

“It will also result in the creation of 50,000 to 100, 000 new jobs.

“Our company [RD] is so grateful that of all the fishing companies in PNG and outside PNG, the Marape-Rosso Government has chosen to partner us in this exciting new JV Fishing Company.

“We are committed to this JV and we will be working very closely with the new Chairman of the State Negotiating Team [SNT] to make sure that over the next four weeks we will finalize the negotiations and have the draft agreements between State and RD, and the Shareholder Agreement between the State and RD for the operations of the JV, ready for submission to the NEC for approval.

My team will be travelling to Port Moresby in the next two weeks to meet with the SNT to finalize the agreements.”

Meanwhile, the SNT Chairman Dairi Vele has given his commitment that he will work very closely with the chairman of RD and the negotiating team to tidy up the negotiations and finalize the two agreements over the next four weeks.

“I am confident that the negotiations and the two agreements will be finalized in the next four weeks because a lot of work has already been done by the previous Chairman and his team in terms of the negotiations,” said Mr. Vele.