A horticultural agro business is seeking $350,000 to help its 260 farmers and export members back on their feet following Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston. Nature's Way Cooperative Fiji Ltd (NWC) CEO Michael Brown says most of their exporters are facing increased costs which can threaten their ability to export. "Due to the damage caused to farms, exporters have to include a larger number of suppliers in order to get the same volume of exports, this affects the labour and transport costs associated with buying produce as well as biosecurity-related registration costs," Mr Brown said. The agro business is involved in the export of papaya, eggplant and breadfruit. Some of the concerns Mr Brown raised included cost overheads. "Due to the reduced supply, exporters are sending smaller volumes of fruit however, their overheads remain the same and therefore the overall cost per unit has increased significantly. "It is envisioned that through this stimulus package scheme, exporters will be able to encourage farmers to rehabilitate and replant resulting in an increase in volume to a scale that is economically viable and sustainable," he said. Initially, a small enterprise handling just 30 tonnes of papaya each year, NWC treats and packs about 1200 tonnes of papaya, mango, breadfruit and eggplant annually. Source - freshplaza.com