SP Brewery’s cassava factory closed due to liquor ban

THE South Pacific (SP) Brewery cassava factory in Morobe which employs 500-plus growers has been closed since March, according to SP Brewery managing director Ed Weggemans.
He said it was the result of the liquor ban imposed during the state of emergency which ended yesterday.
The brewery last year introduced a new product called Pawa Punch from the cassava flour made at the factory.
“Under the liquor ban, all the tucker boxes were closed. (They were) the only distribution channel for Pawa Punch. If there is nowhere for us to sell it, then unfortunately we cannot continue to produce.”
The factory was opened in June last year. The brewery and its partner International Finance Corporate signed up almost 500 smallholder farmers.
Weggemans said they needed tucker boxes to sell the product.
“In addition, the excise increases in December 2019 and June this year have driven up the price of our products and is driving consumers straight back to homebrew,” he said.
SP Brewery agreed to pay the farmers for all the cassava ready for harvest at the agreed contract rates based on average yields.
It allowed the farmers to keep the cassava roots for their families or to sell them at the market.
“SP recognises that many families are having it tough under the SOE and this was one way of giving back to our community of smallholder farmers,” Weggemans said.
“Furthermore, we will be harvesting roots from our own nursery which we intend to donate to institutions like the Angau General Hospital, Buimo Correctional facility and University of Technology to support their food rations.
“But we really need the support of Government to allow us to plan for the future of these farmers and our cassava factory.”