By MADELEINE AREK
SMALLHOLDER coffee farmers in Morobe province have been asked to find other buyers until mill owners have settle their differences.
Mill co-owner Simon Tubi told his suppliers wanting to sell their Robusta and Arabica coffee to the mill to wait until “all our internal issues have been settled” and a new management team was appointed.
He said, while he knew the closure of the mill would have a drastic impact on coffee farmers who depended on it for livelihood, it was best for business that they settle these issues now rather than wait until later.
He confirmed that the Coffee Industry Corp (CIC) had closed the mill not because they did not have an operating license but because they failed to pay a renewal fee of K2,000 for this year.
“The issues are internal, they are management issues and will be sorted out as soon as we can get all the parties involved to sit down and iron out their differences,” Mr Tuli said.
“There has been a breach of the memorandum of understanding that we signed in February 2007 and until that is solved, the mill will remain closed.”
The Solop coffee mill, jointly owned by Wanu Nialong of Mungkip Village and Tubi and his family was leased to PNG Coffee Federation, which operated the facility on behalf of its 40,000 coffee farm family units from Milne Bay to Sandaun province.
The mill bought coffee parchments from small holder families, processed them into green beans for export
Since its closure more than two weeks ago more than 200 mothers who sorted out parchment coffee at the mill had lost their jobs.