I want to give everyone an update on how we are doing, and the exciting future ahead of us at Trukai.
At the beginning of the year, we fundamentally changed Trukai from being a rice company into a multi category FMCG business, rice remains at the heart of what we do but now with the additional support of flour as a new category.
That shift was deliberate, giving us more ways to grow and making us less exposed to any single crop, market, or season. Flour is the clearest expression of that strategy so far, and it is already proving the model works.
In August, we launched Trukai Retail Flour, building on the earlier launch into the Bakers category, and it has been an outstanding success. One customer who switched to Trukai Bakers Flour told us they are now getting an extra tray of buns out of every baking session, and that lines up with the flour's higher water absorption and protein content. That kind of result is exactly what earns us shelf space and loyalty in a competitive category. Flour is now a genuine second category for Trukai alongside rice, and that is a big credit to the team across both launches.
We are also progressing Smart Farmer agreements with the government to extend the program to five locations nationally. Smart Farmer is about building the next generation of PNG farmers, giving them training, better practices, and a direct link into our supply chain, and until now it has run from a single site. Taking it to five locations turns a pilot into a genuinely national program, and it is one of the clearest ways we can strengthen local food production while growing our own supply base at the same time.
On rice, sales volumes have been strong, and the business is well placed to hit target for the year. That is being driven by both continued growth in our core rice business and the early contribution from Flour, which is exactly the balance we set out to build when we started diversifying. Rice remains the heart of Trukai, and a strong rice result gives us the base to keep investing in the categories around it.
Safety remains our key focus, and it does not take a back seat to growth. Every month, we complete around 20,000 leading indicators to proactively identify areas where we need to monitor and improve safety at work, and that consistent effort is what keeps incidents down and catches problems before they become injuries. Thank you all for the attention you give to safety, and for making sure everyone can come to work and return home safe and well.
In summary, Trukai is a genuinely different business than it was at the start of the year. Flour is now a real second category with Retail live alongside Bakers, Smart Farmer is moving toward a national footprint through agreements with government, and rice sales have us well placed for the year, all of it underpinned by a strong safety record. That is a lot of change delivered in eight months, and it sets us up well for the years ahead. Thank you all for the work behind every part of this.”