AS a member of the Blockholder Association, I condemn the action of the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) CEO and the CIC board to terminate the export licence of PNG Coffee Growers Federation, a 100% nationally owned growers organisation.
Up to 15% of PNGCGF is made up of blockholders and we are shocked to learn that we are not allowed to export our coffee this year.
We have worked hard over the last five years to get to where we are with an export licence granted in 2005, only to be told by the CIC that we are not allowed to export our coffee.
We have rehabilitated our coffee garden, plant more new coffee, improve our quality, develop our marketing strategy, even build our own airstrips to freight coffee to support our “tree to cup” goal and all the way to setting up coffee shops in China.
We are all geared up to start moving our coffee in a big way.
What is CIC’s justification to do what it did?
It is an injustice to coffee growers in 13 coffee growing provinces who are members of PNGCGF.
CIC chairman Pugma Kopi, who is also a representative of the Blockholder Association must come out and tell us why his board and the CEO are working against the interest of blockholders in PNGCGF and the small coffee growers.
It is unfair of CIC to work in partnership with another coffee exporter by signing an MoA with Mainland Holding, which is exporting coffee as Niugini Coffee Tea and Spice Co Ltd.
Where is CIC’s impartiality in regulating, controlling, issuing and managing of coffee export licence?

Arnold Ninaka
Via email