A food scientist says Pacific countries could add more value to the agricultural products they export just by improving the packaging of the goods.
Dr Richard Beyer was in Samoa recently for a workshop on food packaging, Samoa with the help of the UN's Food Agriculture Organisation is in the process of preparing a manual on food packaging.
Dr Beyer, who works throughout the Pacific, says countries in the region are underperforming in what value they can get out of agricultural products.
He says there are a number of products where value could be added due to packaging.
"If you take taro, fine you can export a taro and there will be a market in South Auckland or there will be a market in Sydney, but if you start freezing it or if you added in value by packaging it or whatever, then you widen the market."
Dr Richard Beyer says the FAO is hoping to expand into the rest of the region a programme that looks at putting together a manual on food packaging.
