A planned multi-purpose packhouse facility for root crops will serve as a processing and packing facility for both frozen and fresh produce in the Eastern District of Tongatapu.

The packhouse will be built under a partnership agreement  between a Tongan export business Lotopoha Export Trading and the Pacific Horticulture and Agricultural Market Access Plus Program (PHAMA Plus).

The facility is expected to break ground this month, April 2023, and construction is scheduled for completion in July.

The partnership builds on PHAMA Plus' prior collaboration with Lotopoha to improve Tonga’s root crops export capacity and meet increasing quality requirements and market demands.

The multipurpose facility will serve as a processing and packing facility for both frozen and fresh produce in the Eastern District of Tongatapu which supplies a large portion of the country’s total root crops exports volumes.

Melesisi Finefeuiaki, Lotopoha Export Trading CEO said, “We’re proud of our continued collaboration with PHAMA Plus to establish the packhouse facility and improve our export capacity to meet the minimum requirements for food safety where fresh produce from our farmers can be processed, packed and ready for exports.”

Lotopoha has been exporting to formal markets in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia, where food safety is a key market requirement to meet market standards, and this renewed collaboration will help the business prepare for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) auditing, accreditation, and certification.”

Both Australia and New Zealand support PHAMA Plus.

The first Secretary of the Australian High Commission to Tonga said, “Australia, through PHAMA Plus, is proud to support Tonga’s only woman root crops exporter – Melesisi and farming households that supply to her company, but more broadly to grow Tonga's export capability of root crops.”

The first Secretary – Development of the New Zealand High Commission, Olivia Philpott said, “New Zealand’s partnership with Lotopoha Trading, through PHAMA Plus, is supporting inclusive economic growth by ensuring farming communities, and in particular women, from the Eastern District can access the benefits of upgrade and packing facilities. We wish Melesisi and her team great success in the future.”

Tevita Lautaha, PHAMA Plus Country Manager Tonga said the completion of the new processing plant will help farming households in the Eastern District through enhanced, upgraded root crops outputs and capacity to cater to existing and new prospective markets.

"This facility will help the about 50 farming households grow a total of 100 acres of land in order to sustain productivity and consistency in feeding the newly built processing plant, which will service existing and new prospective markets," he said.