ALEC Chairman David Galvin with LDC managing director Terry Koim at the Launakalana ranch, Central province.
HALF-a-century ago when it gained independence from Australia, Papua New Guinea’s lush tropical grasslands were grazed by herds totalling around 150,000 cattle.
Today the Pacific Island nation’s herd is estimated to be 40,000 head.
However, with many areas of State-owned land comprising expanses of tropical grass suited to cattle breeding and raising, the PNG Government is taking concrete steps towards achieving a goal of self—sufficiency in meat production.
“The irony is that for a country with so much grassland for raising cattle and other livetock, we continue to import meat, something that must stop,” PNG Prime Minister James Marape has told local media.
PNG relies on imports of mainly Australian beef, sheep and goatmeat to meet the consumption requirements of its population of 12 million people.
But there is also genuine potential for PNG to import more Australian livestock, particularly breeding cattle, to help achieve its meat production ambitions, Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council chair David Galvin says.
Mr Galvin has just returned from a week-long tour of cattle enterprises and agricultural regions of PNG and said he was struck by the Government’s strong resolve to pursue increased meat production and impressed by the professionalism of its approach.
PM Marape has established a dedicated Livestock Ministry, and the PNG Government is also resourcing the Livestock Development Corporation to move to reclaim and develop State-owned lands for the purpose of rebuilding the country’s cattle industry.
This has included investments in fixing broken abattoirs, moves to diversify agricultural production with cattle in conjunction with Agro-Forestry plantations, and plans to develop post-entry quarantine facilities for imported livestock.
“They are really putting a big effort into it,” Mr Galvin told Beef Central this week.
“One property I visited in Central Province was 4,500ha, fenced and watered perfectly, with about 600 cattle running there.
“There is some beautiful country. In the highlands, without being really high, you have got valleys with tens of thousands of hectares of signal grass, that really hasn’t been grazed since 1980.
“It is all State-owned. They are looking for joint venture partners with the view to leasing land.”
He said country types were suited to running tropical cattle such as Brahmans in the lowlands parts of PNG to more cross-bred British type cattle or Wagyu herds in the highland country.
PNG does not have a protocol with Australia for the import of breeding cattle but Mr Galvin said he believed the PNG Government was moving to formalise those discussions with the Australian Government in the near future.
PNG has the potential to accommodate closer to a million head of cattle within 20 years if it invests modern breeding programs and improved genetics, he believes.
Livestock Development Corporation (LDC) Managing Director Terry Koim said capacity building for the PNG beef cattle industry is a goal the LDC is “working tirelessly to achieve”.
“We are in the process of restocking all our ranches in Port Moresby and Central Province, and elsewhere hence it was good to show the ALEC chairman what is happening on the ground”, Mr Koim said.
“The visit by Mr Galvin is important in preparing a report to be compiled for the cattle producers and exporters in Australia to ensure an ongoing partnership is established between LDC and the Australian stakeholders in the business of live cattle trade.
“He gave his assurance to see cattle numbers increase in PNG over a period of 15 years to reach a herd size of a 1 million cattle if LDC starts importing breeder cattle especially of the Brahman breed which is conducive to PNG and has already proven to do well here ever since.”
Mr Galvin said he believed the Livestock Development Corporation is looking for joint venture partners to share the costs of setting up properties to build herds in PNG.
Investment environment
As a developing economy with a population comprising many people below the poverty line, PNG is rated as a “high risk” country the Australian Government’s Export Finance Australia agency.
“PNG has an OECD country credit grade of 6 and sub-investment grade sovereign debt ratings from the major ratings agencies. These ratings underline PNG’s vulnerability to economic and financial shocks,” it notes.
The US Dept of State investment climate assessment notes that tribal conflicts, especially in the Highlands and Sepik regions, can also be common in PNG.
But it also shares a positive view that as the largest Pacific Islands economy, PNG offers “enormous trade and investment potential”.
“The Government of PNG’s commitments to funding the law and justice sector, combined with significant security assistance from Australia, supports stability.
“The government’s Foreign direct investment (FDI) promotion and National Trade Policy (NTP) aim to maximize trade and investment by boosting exports, reducing imports, and attracting FDI. PNG envisions an internationally competitive, export-driven economy supported by a robust domestic market.
“Prime Minister James Marape is spearheading initiatives to foster a conducive socio-economic environment for businesses in PNG. The government’s Connect PNG program aims to upgrade 16,000 kilometers of roads, including major highways like the Trans-Island Highway and the New Britain Highway, along with urban roads. Regulatory reforms seek to enhance governance and investor protection, including a new takeovers and mergers code for transparency. PNG aims to attract institutional investors for large-scale projects.”
This is just a re-hash and not realistic, My family owned a cattle property in the Ramu Valley of PNG for 40 years. We had over 7000 hectares, 2000 breeders and weekly supplied 2 – 3 year old grassfed steers to the Lae, Madang and Goroka markets. All these centres had good abattoirs but due to total lack of maintenance they have fallen into disrepair. Papua New Guinea is good at starting new projects but has no desire for continual maintenance. Mum & Dad, Sir Bruce and Lady Jephcott started the cattle industry in PNG in the early 60’s. The Ramu and Markham Valley are the best regions for cattle production in PNG. Ramu Agri Industries (RAI) now owns the three biggest cattle properties in that area, including ours. They have built their own abattoir which is the only functioning one. David Galvin has not approached any of us with extensive experience in the PNG cattle industry and you have not mentioned RAI in your article. Since we sold the property and left PNG in 2000, I have regularly returned as a consultant for RAI and New Britain Palm Oil who run cattle in their plantations. My brother, Grant Jephcott, still works up there. There are a lot of wild cattle in PNG due to lack of maintenance and erratic or no handling. Due to its high rainfall and tropical grasses, sodium and iodine deficiency are endemic. Lactacting cows will die if not given ad lib access to salt.
Thanks for your comment, Sandi. You should write a book about your family’s PNG beef experiences – it would make interesting reading. Editor
LDC is heading in the right direction, lead by Mr. Terry Koim (Managing Director). PNG can achieve the Marape Government’s object; which is to be self reliant in meat production.
PNG has the Land, pasture, (however needs to improve pasture quality), and water for cattle.
Livestock Development Corporation with support from the Australian Government through , PNG can achieve its meat production ambitions.
Well done Prime Minister Hon. James Marape, Livestock Ministry and Livestock Development Corporation for a job well done so far. Although LDC has a long way to go, it surely is moving on the right direction to achieve its objective.
I would like to thank Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council chair David Galvin for his visit to PNG to witness firsthand the progress LDC has done so far.