The major export cash crops, coffee, cocoa and copra are grown by all types of producers throughout the country where soil and climate conditions are suitable. Oil palm, tea, rubber and pyrethrum are other important export crops. Tea is grown almost entirely in the highlands on both estates and smallholdings. Rubber is grown mainly in large holdings in the Southern coastal region, though it is grown in limited quantities elsewhere. Oil palm is grown in West new Britain and Oro Provinces on both largeholdings and smallholdings.
Pyrethrum is grown in smallholdings and only in certain areas of the highlands.
The principal crops for domestic consumption are sweet potatoes, banana, taro, yam, sugar cane, maize and ground nuts. There is considerable scope for increases in production of both export crops and crops for local consumption. Imports of fresh fruits and vegetables could be significantly substituted by domestic production with appropriate government policies. Most items are simply sorted, graded and packed for export, though there is some local processing of palm oil, coconut oil and coffee. The Government has purchased rights to timber over 2.5million hectares and issued permits to harvest for less than 1 million hectares of this area, so 1.5 million hectares are available for development.