Speech Detail

Thank you Mister Speaker Sir

·       Honourable Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and Assistant Ministers

·       The Honourable Leader of the Opposition

·       Honourable Members of Parliament

·       Distinguished guests

·       Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning, Ni sa bula Vinaka, and Namaste.

Mister Speaker Sir, I rise to deliver a statement on the progress of the Ministry of Forestry’s research work on the utilisation of senile coconut stems under the Project “Coconut and other non-traditional forest resources for the manufacture of Engineered Wood Products”.  

Mister Speaker Sir, at the outset, I would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the Australian Center for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR), Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QDAF) and the Pacific Community (SPC) for the opportunity provided to the Ministry of Forestry to participate in the 5-year project on, “Coconut and other non-traditional forest resources for the manufacture of Engineered Wood Products (EWP)” which began in February 2021.

In addition, I would also like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Rural Development.

The current project on coconut and other non-traditional wood and forest products follows a previous ACIAR funded research project in 2009, which installed new research equipment at the Ministry of Forestry facility in Nasinu.

This  resulted in the successful demonstration of the technical feasibility of peeling logs from senile coconut stems using spindle-less lathe technology to produce suitable veneers for the manufacture of coconut-based engineered wood products (EWPs).

Mister Speaker Sir , the Coalition Government endorsed the project agreement in early 2023, and is providing the much needed assistance through the provision of a very experienced team with skills and a range of disciplines to support the adoption of a coconut wood product value chain here in Fiji.

The project is working on delivering and validating wood processing technologies to transform coconut and other currently low-value forest resources into high-value engineered wood products suitable for local and international markets.

By enabling new resources such as senile coconut palms to be used in high value wood products, there are many benefits that can be expected. Importantly, our farming communities are able to clear the significant number of unproductive coconut palms and use the payments received from selling the logs to clear their land.

This in turn enables them to replant their land with new palms or other valuable crops in mixed cropping systems which may be more profitable and more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Our timber industry can produce new innovative products which can be used locally in speciality joinery and furniture manufacture along with pursuing high value export opportunities. Employment opportunities are expected along the new value chain. 

Mister Speaker, Sir, all projects have their own share of challenges and this project is no exception. The real challenge lies in how our forest industry can quickly take up this opportunity and make the necessary investments and adopt the technology.

Mister Speaker, Sir we are talking about an industry that is so used to processing conventional timber species and will therefore need a lot of convincing to adopt the new technology and to process senile coconut logs.

But this is not insurmountable as the project is vigorously pursuing a number of strategies which will be able to yield the necessary outcomes in this respect. These include the direct participation of the private sector in Vanua Levu, through Hyoulin Sawmill Fiji Limited a subsidiary of Long Investment Ltd. This company is willing to work with the project to achieve its goals.

As we speck the Ministry of Forestry through the project has supported Hyoulin Sawmill with the construction of a steam box which was commissioned last month. This will enable the heat conditioning of coconut and other non-traditional forest resources in preparation for veneer processing before they are manufactured into engineered wood products.

Preliminary testing was successfully completed, paving the way for the project team to further investigate the integration of senile coconut stem processing into commercial production. This also offers opportunities to enhance yields and improve veneer grade of other log types through more optimized processing pathways.

In addition the project is also undertaking research on utilizing the mahogany grades 4 and 5 from Fiji Hardwood Corporation as core specie. Fiji Hardwood Corporation is having issues in selling grades 4 and 5 logs due its poor quality, and the project has provided an opportunity for utilizing these low quality mahogany logs.

Furthermore, the project team has also completed the development of a financial modelling tool that will provide valuable guidance to those that are interested in participating in the value chain and will have immediate benefits to the plywood producers, especially in defining profitability pathways. Most segments of the model have been tested and proven valuable for Fiji Hardwood Corporation in assessing their mill delivered log costs and costing structures.

Valebasoga Tropikboards, another plywood processor in Vanua Levu, and a collaborator in the previous project, recently expressed its interest with a strong willingness to participate and to ensure the success of the project.

Mister Speaker, Sir overall, this project will have positive social, economic and environmental impacts including a source of income for farmers as well as ticking the boxes for sustainable forestry by using senile coconut trees.

I thank you Mister Speaker Sir for the opportunity to deliver this statement.

Vinaka vakalevu, thank you and May God Bless Fiji.