Overview

The agriculture sector contributed US$3.5 million to the GDP of PNG in 2022.  Agriculture is the principal livelihood for 85 percent of the rural population. Communities rely on subsistence farming for their basic needs, having limited contact with the formal economy.  The government’s focus to increase cash crop production for exports will require processing primary produce and downstream processing to diversify and expand the country’s export base.  The government’s strategy is to have rural freight subsidies, price market stabilization, and market facilitation programs.

A wide variety of cash crops may be cultivated in PNG due to fertile soils and favorable climates particularly in the highlands, coastal lowlands, and some parts of the island regions.  Cash crop production is concentrated on large farms, known locally as plantations, but significant smallholder production among rural communities also exists.  Small-scale farmers either sell their produce to plantations or to community boards that serve as centralized buyers to stabilize prices and improve bargaining power.  PNG’s main agricultural exports include cocoa, coffee, copra, palm oil, rubber, and spices/vanilla.

Opportunities

PNG’s agricultural sector needs mechanization, refrigeration, and overall supply chain improvements, all of which provides significant opportunities for U.S. companies’ investment.  Further, additional opportunities logistics solutions, machinery, and services to small scale farmers as well as large companies already operating in PNG’s agricultural sector are areas for investment.

Resources

Event:  The Morobe Show hosted by the Morobe Provincial Agricultural Society showcases the various agricultural, industrial and commercial features of Morobe Province.  The Morobe Show will be November 4-5, 2023, in Lae, PNG.

PNG agencies and departments in this sector:

• PNG Tourism Promotion Authority
• PNG Department of Agriculture and Livestock
• PNG Investment Promotion Authority