According to City Pharmacy Group Limited CEO Navin Raju, one of the major challenges for Papua New Guinea supermarkets is made up of the inconsistency in the supply of fresh produce. Raju highlighted this during the Central Provincial Development Forum held last week in Port Moresby.
According to him, currently, they are importing fresh produce on a 80/20 per cent range. "Previously, we imported on a 50/50 per cent range, but have changed our approach to 80/20 per cent import range as CPL founder Sir Mahesh is eager to promote local produce domestically. But the issue now is with the consistency of fresh produce supply to our supermarkets or retail outlets."
He said they have increased projects and forged partnerships with provinces and SMEs to supply fresh produce to the city markets.
"The main issue we face is with the supply of produce to meet the market demand with a consistent supply," Raju told postcourier.com.pg. "We sell more than nine containers per week throughout the city, hence, we need our suppliers to be consistent in their supply of fresh produce."
Raju said proper consultancy between businesses, cooperatives or the middleman buyers need to be established.