The Ministry of Industry and Trade is inviting Expressions of Interest under the National Export Strategy (NES) facility, from companies that need assistance to grow their exports or companies that are on the verge of exporting, said the Permanent Secretary for Industry and Trade, Mr Shaheen Ali (pictured above).
“The Fijian Government, through the NES facility, assists exporters to enhance production, value addition, competiveness and diversification to achieve sustainable growth in the export business,” Mr Ali said.
“Forestry, fisheries, agro-business, mineral water, audio visual and ICT have been targeted as the sectors that will benefit from the strategy. This will enable Fiji to secure sustainable market access for “Fijian Made” and “Fijian Grown” exports from these sectors.” Mr Ali added.
“The Government has been assisting exporters through the NES since 2007. Approximately $5.1 million worth of assistance has been provided. A large number of projects out of 23 projects assisted have been in the Agriculture followed by Fisheries, Forestry, Mineral Water and Others,” the Permanent Secretary said.
“In 2013, the Ministry will also focus on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are involved in export businesses and have not been able to access support under the NES facility. In order to ensure that SMEs are able to fulfill the requirements, the Ministry will assist the SMEs by proving advice on the eligibility criteria and the relevant documents that are required with regards to the application,” Mr Ali added.
“The Fijian Government will ensure that the NES funding is targeted towards companies that are most in need of assistance to enable them to develop and expand exports,” Mr Ali said.
Application forms and the eligibility criteria can be obtained from the Ministry office on the Level 2, Naibati House, Goodenough Street, Suva or any Department of Cooperative’s Office Divisional Offices. The NES application forms and the criteria are also available on the Ministry’s website www.mit.gov.fj
MINFO