Minister for Agriculture Dr Mahendra Reddy urged members of the Vanuakula Methodist Transformation Scheme in Ra to plant more duruka (Fijian asparagus) for international export.
The scheme consists of members of the Ra Methodist Circuit who have shown interest in getting in agricultural farming and received farming implements from Dr Reddy last Friday in Waimicia.
“Food Processors is canning duruka and one day I went to a function and they gave me some can duruka, some can tomato, can pineapple,”Mr Reddy said.
“One day I told my wife cook that duruka, the duruka was 90 per cent fresh so I said I should buy some can duruka and keep it at home, sometimes the relatives come, they want to eat duruka.
“So I called Food Processors, I said where do you sell your canned duruka, I want to buy, they said no no, we don’t sell our duruka here in Fiji.”
He said there was a massive demand for duruka in America.
“We are not able to fulfil that demand. And the price that we can get there is much higher than what we will get if we sell here.
“So we don’t want to sell here, you can see the demand for duruka.”
