PNG offers competitive prices for broccoli

Fiji should consider importing broccoli from Papua New Guinea where its retailed price averaged $2 a kilogram, said Jenny Seeto, a leading businesswoman in the higher echelon of society.

The topic was among discussion at a post budget deliberation hosted by Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation in the capital.

Jenny Seeto, a trustee of the federation, and chairwoman for Investment Fiji called on Finance minister Biman Prasad to consider such alternatives.

In Fiji, broccoli is retained at close to $30 a kilogram.

Mr Prasad said importing broccoli from PNG was a "good example" of zero duty.

"We don't like price control, we want competition," he said.

Vanua Levu

During the Q&A session, Mr Prasad said Vanua Levu would be the next growth centre for the next two decades.

He said the business landscape had advanced with the need for more urgency.

"It's no longer business as usual," Mr Prasad said.

Budget Deficit

At a growth rate of five per cent per annum,  the national budget deficit could be reduced over the next 10-15 years, he said.

"We are getting a handle on infrastructure," Mr Prasad said.

Ailing infrastructure, not sparing Colonial War Memorial Hospital, was the result of previous economic mismanagement and partly because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

With 29 projects carried out in the past two years, the government - with assistance from its Australian counterpart - had covered good ground, he said.