Page 14 - Islands Business March 2023

Agriculture Agriculture

NONI JUICE INCHING CLOSER TO

EXPORTS

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti

There is good news for noni exporters and producers across
the region, with some progress towards having regional stan-
dards for the trade of fermented noni juice.
Nonu (noni) is an important agricultural export in Samoa,
contributing more than SAT$10 million (US$3.65 million) annu-
ally to their economy and supporting more than 17,000 semi-
subsistence farming households.
Samoa noni producer and exporter, the managing director
of Wilex Samoa Group, Tagaloa Eddie L. Wilson, was all smiles
after a recent meeting looking at Codex standards for noni and
kava in Nadi.
The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally-
adopted standards and guidelines aimed at protecting consum-
ers’ health and ensuring fair practices in the trade of food
products, whether processed, semi-processed, or raw.
Wilson said, “I’m very pleased to see that the meeting has
now accepted to promote the noni regional standard to level
8, which is subject to fine-tuning of the methodology to check Annelise Halafihi
its safety as a commodity, so it’s a real success.”
Wilson says this process began in 2004, “I want to thank The process of collecting, testing, and analysing nonu
FAO and WHO for really allowing the Pacific Islands to provide samples being undertaken in Samoa was approved at the
this regional standard and for providing the support and guide- CODEX meeting. The next step will be to supply that collected
lines to make sure that there is compliance with the require- data to authorities, pending confirmation of its safety.
ments of CODEX standards.
“It would have been very difficult to get where we are today Noni
without that support, and also the Pacific region and industries While Samoa has more noni farmers than any other country
for their patience, I mean 20 years is a long time,” he said. in the region, the plant is cultivated elsewhere. According to
“So it’s a real success, and I consider this meeting as send- Tonga’s Senior Agriculture Officer in Tonga, Annelise Halafihi,
ing out a clear message to the world that noni from the Pacific noni grows in almost every household in Tonga; however, when
Region, nonu that is fermented, and nonu juice from the it comes to export, there is still a gap, with just two produc-
Pacific is safe.” ers.
A veteran in the fields of both nonu and kava exports, Wilson “Of course, we have been exporting it overseas, however,
reiterated the importance of meeting standards. they don’t really make the juice; in fact, the noni we export
“If nonu is accepted by the FAO or WHO as a safe food item, to Tonga is manufactured in Japan and Korea,” she said.
then the world can consume it with that level of confidence,” According to Halafihi, Japanese and Koreans approach local
Wilson said. noni farmers to supply them with the fruit, which they will
“And with that level of confidence, it will increase sales of process and sell under their own label. She said, “They sell
this commodity, and with that increase in sales, of course, some locally, but they mostly export it.”
increase in production, which means processes we will be able While noni farming is not popular in Tonga, kava farming is,
to buy more from noni farmers, improving their livelihoods and the conference addressed some issues raised regarding
and our people in the Pacific,” he said. kava exports.
The 16th session of the Codex Committee for North America
and the South West Pacific in Nadi suggested that the Draft Re- Kava
gional Standard for Fermented Noni Fruit Juice be forwarded As host and chief guest for the opening of the meeting,
to the 46th session of the CODEX Alimentarius Commission. Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Coopera-
The delay in passing noni standards was due to several food tives, SMEs, and Communications, Manoa Kamikamica, ac-
safety issues, including the requirement that scopoletin levels knowledged moves to implement CODEX guidelines in relation
should be kept as low as technologically feasible until a safe to kava standards.
level is established by by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Commit- He continued, “Fiji has also adopted the ‘Fiji Kava Stan-
tee on Food. Scopoletin is a naturally-occurring compound dard,’ based on CODEX, to ensure the welfare of kava plants
found in many plants. during transport and prevent the spread of disease.”

14 Islands Business, March 2023