By RODRICK DESURI
Auki
A local cocoa and copra buyer in Malaita Province calls for a strong partnership and link that can benefit both exporters and buyers in the country.
The call is also extended to the national government to review the laws of exporting commodities to create the right channel for local exporters to reach specific factories and access overseas markets.
Manager of Alisuri Sustainable Livelihood Association, Elton Etega said that the current process between buyers and exporters does not benefit them but rather benefits exporters and the government.
He said that local buyers, who play a very important role at the beginning of the process, are left out and suffer.
“The link that I was talking about is between us (buyers) and the exporters—a link that allows all actors in the process to benefit.
“And this starts from rural farmers and goes right up to the factories. Currently, we don’t know the process that we have followed. That is when they say overseas prices have dropped, we don’t even know why,” he said.
He added that the process the exporters are going through also needs to be reviewed by the government.
“I know, dear, that the process our exporters are using isn’t right. This is because they are using other business channels to export their containers,” he said.
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