28 Feb 2008

Fruit processing boosted in PNG

7:24 am on 28 February 2008

A new fruit drying plant has been set up in Goroka in Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands Province.

The plant, the first of its kind in the country, was established by locally owned company New Guinea Fruit Limited, as an initiative to encourage a sustainable economy for rural people.

The company has already bought fruit from subsistence farmers in Eastern Highlands and will soon buy from farmers in other provinces.

General manager Sally Watson said the company was focusing on developing products from locally grown fruits, such as fruit wines, jams, and juice.