NEWS

Coffee competition partnerships

Coffee competition partnership The Investment Promotion Authority has come on board as a partner sponsor to support the 2018 coffee cupping competition taking place this week in Port Moresby. A cheque of K5000 was presented to the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) General Manager Steven Tumae by director corporate services Anna Marikawa at the IPA office in Port Moresby on Moday. Ms Marikawa said IPA had supported the event since 2015

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PNG Q-graders join judges panel

PNG Q-graders join judges panel Five Papua New Guineans will join seven international Q-graders for the 2018 PNG Coffee Industry Corporation Ltd National Coffee Cupping Competition to be held in Port Moresby from Sept 10-14, 2018. Among the local coffee cuppers will be Enos Dum, 29, of Osifagu Village in the Unggai Bena District of Eastern Highlands. Young Enos took part in two national coffee tasting contests in 2015 and

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67 samples submitted for competition

67 samples submitted for competition Samples of coffee beans ready for grinding and evaluation by Q-graders at the 2018 National Coffee Cupping Competition. Sixty-Seven Arabica coffee samples will be assessed for their quality in cup and taste at the 2018 PNG Coffee Industry Corporation’s National Coffee Cupping Competition to be held in Port Moresby next week. The tasting or cupping is a closed-door event at the Holiday Inn Hotel on

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Lautoka Port to test Sea Container Hygiene System

Lautoka Port to test Sea Container Hygiene System A trial test on the implementation of the Sea Container Hygiene System (SCHS) will be carried out this week at the Port of Lautoka following the successful collaboration at a workshop hosted by the Pacific Horticultural & Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Program last week. Workshop participants at the Tanoa Waterfront Hotel, Lautoka. PC: Fiji Ports Corporation Limited The workshop was held at

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PNG adds new flavour to specialty choc market

For more than 10 years, Grace Klembasa toiled away on cocoa farms in Aitape, West Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea. With young twin daughters to support, the single mother devoted herself to a life of hardwork; a chapter that is now yielding rewards beyond her imagination. Grace’s journey to success began with a sample of dried cocoa beans she entered for the PNG Warwagira, the country’s first Cocoa of

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Taking Pacific kava quality to new heights

Taking Pacific kava quality to new heights A kava bar in the United States, a nakamal in Vanuatu and that “baby mix” any day of the week in Fiji all share one thing in common: kava. Not just any kava, what’s in demand is quality kava. Quality is the new buzzword across kava-producing Pacific island countries today and a motivating factor for kava growers, processors and exporters to lift their

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Samoa launches ‘Ava Standard, Regulation

The launch of the Samoa ‘Ava Standard and ‘Ava Regulation marks a new beginning in the country’s efforts to improve the quality of ‘ava. Launched on Friday, 25 May 2018, the standard and regulation have been welcomed by stakeholders of the ‘ava industry. The standard and regulation will guide the way ‘ava and ‘ava products are handled, processed, packaged and exported to overseas markets and will facilitate safe trade by ensuring

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Sawmill operation training to aid in rebuilding of homes

Hands on … Men and women participate in a practical session of the portable sawmill operation training. PC: MORDI Fallen and damaged trees that were left scattered around parts of Tonga after Category 4 Tropical Cyclone Gita will soon be used to rebuild homes and aid recovery efforts. This week, 32 representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests (MAFF), Latter Day Saints (LDS) Church, Tonga National Youth Congress,

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PNG ready to go on show at expo

The 34th Australia Papua New Guinea Business Forum and Trade Expo gets underway this week in Brisbane. The Forum is the major annual business meeting between Australia and Papua New Guinea. It provides a platform for business leaders from both countries to discuss issues with the aim of enhancing the bilateral business relationship. This year’s theme is APEC 2018 – Achievements and Opportunities. PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill visits the

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PNG’s Banz Kofi achieves international accreditation

Banz Kofi Fektori has become the first coffee producer in Papua New Guinea to achieve the internationally recognised Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) accreditation. HACCP is an internationally recognised way of managing food safety and protecting consumers. This accreditation means Banz Kofi products can be exported to Australian and other countries where HACCP accreditation is a requirement before accepting imports. Patrick Killoran (sixth from left) from Banz Kofi

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Sensory evaluation training to help test cocoa quality

Sensory evaluation training to help test cocoa quality Twenty one participants from the cocoa industry around Papua New Guinea attended a three-day Sensory Evaluation Capacity Training at Tavilo, East New Britain last week. They travelled from as far as West and East Sepik, Bougainville, Morobe, Madang and East New Britain provinces. The training was facilitated by the Australia and New Zealand-funded Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Program in

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PHAMA acknowledges partners for progress

The Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Program in Papua New Guinea continues to gain recognition for its progress in export market facilitation. PHAMA PNG attributes this to its successful working relationship with stakeholders, including the PNG Government. At the PHAMA Coordinating Committee meeting in Nadi, Fiji last week, PHAMA PNG’s Senior National Coordinator, Jane Ravusiro, acknowledged their partnerships as being a contributing factor to the Australia and New

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Handicrafts video, vendor guide to boost sales of Vanuatu handicrafts

 To promote the sale of handicrafts in Vanuatu, a handicrafts biosecurity awareness video and handicrafts vendor guide were launched during the Pacific Week of Agriculture in Port Vila last month. Hon. Matai Seremaiah Nawalu, Vanuatu’s Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Forestry and Biosecurity jointly launched the video and vendor guide with Jenny Da Rin, Australian High Commissioner to Vanuatu and Georgina Roberts, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Vanuatu. L-R: Solomon

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Quarantine training popular with Solomon Islands’ handicraft producers

 Awareness training sessions for stakeholders of the handicrafts and tourism industries in the Solomon Islands have been well received and lauded as an “eye-opening” experience. Organised by the Australian and New Zealand-funded Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Program, the training was well attended by about 150 stakeholders including handicrafts vendors, tourism operators, women’s groups, non-government organization representatives and donor partners. Officials from the Biosecurity Division of Ministry of

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PNG handicrafts artisans, vendors confident of better days ahead

Handicrafts artisans and vendors in Papua New Guinea are confident there will be positive results with the launch of the PNG handicrafts biosecurity awareness video and vendor guide. The awareness materials were jointly launched in PNG on 22 September 2017 by Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Hon. Emil Tammur, MP and Australia’s Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Keith Pitt, MP. Australia’s Assistant

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Kokonut Pacific Solomon Islands achieves food safety certification

Kokonut Pacific Solomon Islands achieves food safety certification Kokonut Pacific Solomon Islands (KPSI), a local producer of virgin coconut oils and soap products, has recently achieved food safety certification to the internationally recognized HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) certification standard. It is only the second time that a company in Solomon Islands has achieved such certification and will allow KPSI to meet international standards for food safety and

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Premium cocoa exports for Solomon Islands reach new levels

Premium cocoa exports for Solomon Islands reach new levels Patterson Siliota, the Chief Inspecting Officer of the Solomon Islands Commodities Export Market Authority (CEMA), confirmed that total exports of cocoa beans to the premium chocolate market for 2017 so far stands at 24 metric tonnes (worth over SBD600,000) compared with less than 2 metric tonnes exported in previous years. “This is a significant increase since Solomon Islands only began exporting cocoa

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Tour experience spells brighter future for youths

Tour experience spells brighter future for youths In the months that followed, communities, villages and people across the country struggled to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, among them a group of young people in Tokou Village, Ovalau. Where their farms once flourished with hundreds of kava plants, rootcrops and vegetables – their source of food and income – strong winds had flattened and destroyed them, forcing the

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Farmers undergo further training to improve cocoa quality

Several owners of solar cocoa driers in the Solomon Islands recently attended a workshop designed to increase sales of “sun-dried” cocoa into the lucrative global boutique market. Last week’s workshop and demonstration exercise offered valuable opportunities for cocoa farmers from five provinces to share learnings with cocoa specialists and MAL extension officers. Lucy Kasimwane from Makira Province who attended the workshop said, “This was a great opportunity to meet with

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Tonga sends first shipment of squash to China

The first ever shipment of Tongan squash to China left Tonga this week, after Tongatapu exporter Nishi Trading successfully passed a strict quarantine inspection on Saturday, 26 November 2016. A delegation from the People’s Republic of China General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) inspected the container of squash at Nishi Trading’s Packing House ‘at ‘Utulau, authorising the first consignment shipment. This important achievement took 18 months of

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