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Business |
Coffee men sue CIC over move to
dissect PNGCGF ops
By ZACHERY PER
THE PNG Coffee
Growers Federation (PNGCGF) has taken out a court injunction to
stop the Coffee Industry Corp (CIC) from looking into its
operation.
Federation chairman Jon Yogiyo said they went to the court when
CIC overstepped its responsibilities by trying to investigate
their operations.
He said the Waigani National Court would hear the matter today.
Last Aug 22, the CIC board of management resolved to look into
the operations of PNGCGF over alleged mistreatment of
co-operative members by improper payment for their coffee, lack
of financial capacity, failure to meet CIC requirements and
non-submission of financial statements and reports.
However, Mr Yogiyo said the federation was 100% coffee small
grower-owned organisation that was a promoter and exporter of
their coffee world-wide.
He pointed out that CIC board comprised of mostly expatriate
coffee exporters and processors who had pressured other members
to agree on terminating PNGCGF’s export licence because their
survival as coffee traders was being threatened.
Mr Yogiyo said the small growers who had been their main feeder
chain formed coffee co-operatives to affiliate with PNGCGF and
were receiving premium price for their produce.
“Small coffee growers had been suppressed to remain at the
production level until the creation of PNGCGF to take the
growers to growing, processing, exporting, roasting, and now
owning coffee shops in China,” Mr Yogiyo said.
He condemned the launch of the investigations on the eve of the
second International Coffee Cupping Competition “The Pride of
PNG 2007” as CIC’s deliberate attempt to destroy the image of
PNG coffee before the international coffee community.
“I call on Agriculture and Livestock Minister John Hickey to
order an overhaul of the role and functions of CIC.
“After 52 years of growing coffee in the Highlands, the farmers
were still suppressed at the production level,” he said.
He said the vision to achieve two million exportable bags and
the drop in production over the years should be the prime
concerns of CIC.
Mr Yogiyo had also condemned CIC’s move to spend coffee growers
levy on “phony investigations” just to destroy small coffee
growers’ initiative for devising own marketing strategy.
He said the move “was contradicting CIC’s grower co-operative
policy”.
“PNGCGF was an initiative of the small coffee growers who
believed in themselves to growing and taking their coffee to the
world market.
“Any small group of self-centred coffee growers, minority
stakeholders including CIC, will never suppressed the initiative
of the PNGCGF coffee growers.
“We will fight this injustice to a bitter end,” Mr Yogiyo said.
According to a letter dated Sept 24, CIC chief executive Ricky
Mitio informed Mr Yogiyo that an initial investigation report of
PNGCGF operation presented to the CIC board last Aug 22 revealed
certain anomalies, raising concerns about how the federation
operates.
 
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