PNG’s 2015 agriculture exports less than half 2011 levels
07 July 2016
DAVID JAMES | Business Advantage PNG | Edited extracts
PAPUA New Guinea’s agriculture export income in 2015 was less than half of 2011 levels, according to recent Bank of Papua New Guinea data.
Income from palm oil exports was at its lowest level since 2009, while coffee exports were less than half the value of four years ago and income from rubber exports almost halved in a year.
Some of the decline is attributable to lower export prices. The bank’s most recent Quarterly Economic Bulletin says in 2015 coffee prices were down from 2014 levels by 1.2%, palm oil prices fell by 18.5%, tea by 5.8% and rubber by 16.7%. Cocoa prices rose by 14.4% and copra by 1.3%.
The lower income was also the result of significantly lower production levels. The Bulletin noted that coffee export volumes declined by 11.6%, attributed to lower yield from ageing coffee trees combined with the adverse impact of the El Niño drought. Cocoa volumes also declined by 8%.
Higher coffee production from Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia put downward pressure on global prices with income being only 42% of the 2011 level. Coffee accounted for 29% of PNG’s agricultural export income last year.
The combined effect of the decline in prices and volumes resulted in a 22.9% decline of palm oil export sales. Palm oil constituted 61% of agricultural export income last year.
Rubber performed poorly. Volumes in 2015 declined by 31.3% from 2014. The Bulletin attributed this to the adverse impact of El Niño. Prices also fell significantly.
A long term comparison of total annual agriculture exports reveals volatility in the sector. Export income in 2015 was above the levels of 2009 and 2013, but well below the levels of 2010–12 and 2014.
Right on target Terry. And that was just the warm up for APEC in 2018. Should be some creative accounting going on soon.
Posted by: Noel Pascoe | 08 July 2016 at 10:08 AM
Of course you should all remember that we did have the biggest and most expensive Pacific Games ever with the Minister for White Elephants burning up K3 billion plus and the flyover and all the other obscene roads and developments in NCDC.
Never mind, rural PNG. If it's not in POM it will not happen.
Posted by: Terry Shelley | 08 July 2016 at 10:07 AM
The Australian Government has spent a couple of million kina on a Kokoda 'Village Livelihoods Program' that is yet to produce a single taro plant along the entire Kokoda Trail after six years - wasted on consultants and 'capacity building' programs that were always destined to fail - and have!
Network Kokoda, a private not-for-profit company, is currently providing fresh produce to more than a thousand boarding students at Iaowari and Sogeri High Schools and have six villages on the Sogeri Plateau marketing their produce to supermarkets in POM via their agriculture centre at Sogeri - all without one cent of Australian Government funding!
Australian consultants should be required to live in villages for the duration of their pet projects; be accountable for outcomes; and be paid accordingly.
Posted by: Charlie Lynn | 08 July 2016 at 10:05 AM