Papua New Guinea is defending an import ban that's aimed at growing small to medium enterprises in the domestic market.
The Agriculture Minister, Tommy Tomscoll, says the import ban on uncooked poultry products from Australia will continue and bans on imports on agriculture produce including bulb onions, tomato, carrots, lettuce and broccoli will follow suit.
The Post Courier reports Mr Tomscoll saying that Papua New Guineans must be allowed to grow their own small and medium industries and have access to the domestic market.
He says this is fair, given that many of the countries who enjoy PNG markets for their exports have stringent quarantine and customs regulations that stop PNG producers from accessing their import markets.
