New Zealand taro buyers have told growers in Vanuatu they are prepared to buy 15 tonnes of taro per month.
The owner of Brun Services and Agriculture, Joseph Brun, told the Vanuatu Daily Post this is after he sent samples of Vanuatu taro to New Zealand buyers.
Market vendor with taro crop for sale at the Lautoka Municipal Market, Fiji Photo: RNZI/Sally Round
He said the positive feedback on the samples and the offer to purchase 15 tonnes a month is good news for Vanuatu.
Mr Brun said he would be heading out to various islands around the country to talk with Farmers about the new offer.
According to a 2012 report on Pacific taro exports, New Zealand imported around 7400 tonnes of taro in 2011 worth approximately $US7.3 million.
Of this about 6,871 tonnes came from Fiji and 506 tonnes from Tonga, accounting for 92 percent and seven percent of the total taro market respectively.
At the time of the study the only countries allowed to import fresh taro to New Zealand were the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Thailand, Tonga and Vanuatu.
However in the region Papua New Guinea is the largest producer of taro and 5th largest in the world, producing 271,000 tonnes in 2010.
Fiji and Solomon Islands are the next largest taro producers in the Pacific, producing 60,283 tonnes and 46,000 tonnes respectively in that year.