PITI drives exporting

A desire and an ability to work at a ”grassroots level“ with businesses from countries in the Pacific region is behind one of the biggest drivers of local companies achieving successfully overseas.

Pacific Islands Trade and Invest (PITI) work alongside businesses across 14 Pacific Islands who have the potential to export goods and products. With offices in Japan, China, Sydney and Auckland, PITI provide the Pacific countries with several avenues for successful international enterprise.

Having started in 2009, the institution also helps link potential investors and Pacific Islands businesses seeking financial assistance.

One of the recent success stories was the exporting of salt from Christmas Island, Kiribati to season sushi and khimchi in Japan and South Korea.

An office of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, PITI has been in Rarotonga helping to install an aquaponics project that boasts both environmental and nutritional benefits.

”It’s a technology that allows for a high yield with less space, is chemical and phosphate free and uses less power,“ trade commissioner Adam Denniss told Cook Islands News.

One of the biggest issues around the Pacific was they were unable to capitalise on opportunities to export produce on a consistent basis while trying to fend off ”mass volumes“ of the same produce from the Asian and South American markets.

”They try to grow too big too fast. They try to do too much business with too many people.

”It’s hard work. The first delivery landed and shared success in New Zealand. The buyers wait for second lots they’re not achieving.“

One of the biggest concerns worldwide had been the lackadaisical attitude towards agriculture over the last 20 years, especially with mounting fears of climate change and rising fuel prices.

”In the next 10-20 years the global food supply chain will change. Increases in costs in fuel change the way the world will do business,“ Denniss said. ”These big global supply chains mean food is going to be expensive.

”What concerns me and other people is this concept of food security. Nations within the Pacific could concentrate on food security and from that create export supply.

”The Cook Islands should not be importing half the produce it’s importing. They’ve got the perfect climate, weather, tourism resources.“

The 2010 PITI Annual Report highlighted that the group had worked with 3253 businesses across the 14 islands, while $839,719 of the $3,516,267 of the total facilitated investment funds went to the Cook Islands.

The four offices, then, were certainly paying off for the Pacific Islands collective.

”It is probably the most economically sustainable way for countries to have a trade office that represents their business in the markets.

”Starting up your own trade office is very expensive – millions and millions. This setup allows countries to show that they have a trade office.

”They have four international offices. Any leaders that want to do business can do so here.“