Tanna packhouse brings Santo model to TAFEA

August 12, 2026 11:07 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Hilaire Bule.

The Government has expanded its National Packhouse Programme to Tanna with the groundbreaking of a new facility aimed at helping farmers and local businesses move from primary production into value-added products and wider markets.

The Tanna National Packhouse Project was officially launched last week alongside the TAFEA Economic Development Plan, marking the replication of the packhouse model established in Santo.

“Santo proved the model. Tanna is the replication. We are now building a national network of packhouses that gives our farmers and local entrepreneurs the tools to produce, add value, access markets and prosper,” Minister of Trade and Commerce Robson Iavro said.

Minister Iavro said the Tanna project demonstrated that the National Packhouse Programme had moved from proving the concept to national replication.

The launch was part of the wider rollout of the TAFEA Economic Development Plan, positioning the packhouse as one of the first practical investments supporting the province’s new economic direction through agriculture, infrastructure, value addition, domestic markets, exports and local investment.

The launch of the Tanna packhouse coincided with the launch of the TAFEA Economic Development Plan by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Management Johnny Koanapo.

Vanuatu Bureau of Standards (VBS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Atanas Pipite said the Tanna National Packhouse would give practical effect to the Government’s vision by providing farmers, producers and local businesses with the infrastructure, standards and market pathways needed to move from primary production into value addition, domestic supply and international exports.

Mr. Pipite said the Tanna facility would replicate the integrated system established in Santo, connecting feeder farms with quality standards, food safety, traceability, biosecurity, packing, logistics and market access.

“It will also support the Government’s Farm-to-Institutions approach, strengthening domestic markets through the supply of locally produced food to schools, hospitals and other public institutions,” he said.

“Construction will now advance using the Santo model, with the objective of moving rapidly from construction to commissioning and then to Tanna’s first export under VANU – Taste of Vanuatu, Vanuatu’s national export brand.”

CEO Pipite said that from Santo to Tanna and onward across the provinces, the National Packhouse Programme was moving from infrastructure to markets, from markets to exports and ultimately towards a stronger national agricultural economy that creates opportunities for Ni-Vanuatu farmers, producers and investors.