Downstream processing is the only way to go in order to get more from our resources, says Rasalato Yanuyanurua, executive director of his family-owned business Aswhy Enterprise.
Mr Yanuyanurua was one of the two recipients of a $US50,000 ($F113,847) seed repayable grant after completing an extensive seven-month business accelerator program funded by the Qatar Fund for Development and facilitated by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) through its office in Suva.
Aswhy Enterprise, which he inherited along with his two siblings when their father died in 2018, is an exporter of mahogany crotch logs that has also diversified to exporting value-added products from mahogany and, lately, bamboo.
“We had a zoom call with Yamaha from Japan last night and we are introducing mahogany and bamboo to them for their musical instruments,” Mr Yanuyanurua said.
“Japanese use bamboo string instruments, so there’s a possibility of introducing Fiji bamboo to their production line.
“We’ll be sending some bamboo samples in the next few weeks and Yamaha will also be coming in to inspect our bamboo.”
A bulk of the seed funding won will be spent on bamboo research and development (RD) for value-adding. “Utilising the wood through downstreaming and value adding is the way to go instead of wasting it,” Mr Yanuyanurua said.
“The model used right now is they’re just sending the raw materials and much of it is left to waste in Fiji and they cannot sell it.
“In some wood, there are high, mid and low grades. “But there’s no point in sending the high grades and leaving the mid and low grades to waste.
“That’s just wasting all the wood. For us, we’re sending all the grades, so we have customers for each grade.”
Aswhy now supplies mahogany veneer to renowned acoustic guitar makers Taylor Guitars, Fender Guitars, Gibson Brands and CF Martin as well as a new deal with Batesville Casket in the US.
Mr Yanuyanurua, who inherited the business with a few thousand dollars in debt, called on the Government to put more focus on companies like his which are keen to explore value-adding.
Aswhy Enterprise for instance funds its RD and this is an area in which the Government could play a supportive role.
“This is the first time for me to receive funding of any kind like this after eight years of being in operation.
“It brought me tears to think back on how I started with nothing and was shunned by the banks and other financial institutions took its toll on me in that I almost gave up on the business,” Mr Yanuyanurua said.
He thanking GGGI and Qatar Fund for Development for their belief and support in his business.
