TAVEUNI – The supply of yaqona from Taveuni has not been a problem over the past year, says farmer and buyer Vijay Singh.
Singh who has been a farmer for more than three decades said the supply had been constant and in some cases supply had exceeded demand.
“The past year has been the best because I did not experience any shortage,” he said.
“I buy and supply yaqona from Taveuni to markets in Viti Levu and there is a huge demand out there, especially in the Western Division.
“My major market is Sigatoka and I have not run short of supply as farmers flood the market with yaqona every week.”
Singh said farmers in the south and north ends of the island were his customers. It costs a lot to travel to villages as far as Vuna and Lavena but I go there to buy yaqona.
“The new trend now is that a lot of farmers come to my home to sell their yaqona and this happens when they are in need of fast cash.
“It shows how readily available cash is in our very own farms and when farmers need it, they just go sell their produce to the market.”
Singh said the competition on the island had gotten better than when he first started in the 1990s. “Now, the price of yaqona is as high as $25 a kilogram of waka,” he said.
