Solomon Islands exploring possibility of cassava export

Solomon Islands is exploring the possibility of exporting cassava, one of its staple food crops, to Canada.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter Shanel Agovaka, says he’ll be visiting Canada towards the middle of next year to tee up trade arrangements.

He says after that a group of Canadian officials will visit Solomon Islands to assess the quality of cassava grown there.

Agovaka says the Canadians are after a container of the root crop a month.

“On Guadalcanal itself cassava grows easily and if you can tee up all the farmers to plant and harvest cassava and sell to an agent who can export, I think that’ll be what I’m looking at.”

Peter Shanel Agovaka says the other islands are also interested in contributing to the export market so he hopes there would be enough cassava left over for the local market.