Coffee attracts interest at expo

COFFEE from PNG generated a lot of interest from potential buyers at the recent 2020 Expo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC).
Chief operations officer Steven Tumae said the coffee team at the expo included co-owners of locally-owned business Island Green.
“The IGP is a small locally owned coffee roasting and exporting company owned by the Arua siblings,” Tumae said.
“IGP had already established contact with the Dubai Multi Crop Commodity Board in 2019 but couldn’t pursue it further due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions.
“So the World Expo 2020 was an opportunity to showcase the Goilala and other coffee sourced from the lowlands of PNG.”
A PNG coffee company was launched in partnership with the Dubai Multi Crop Commodity (DMCC) by the Agriculture and Livestock Minister John Simon and Ambassador Joshua Kalinoe.
All PNG coffee will be distributed by the DMCC which can be likened to our Kumul Holdings Ltd (KHL).
The DMCC is a government establishment that sources gold, diamonds and crops including coffee from around the world, packages them and distributes to countries around the globe.
“This agreement will also be formalised through diplomatic negotiations and other formalities,” he said.
“Coffee in itself generated a lot of interest and demand from visitors to the PNG pavilion and since IGP had already established itself with DMCC well before the world expo 2020, they will be setting up roasting and distribution centre in Dubai under the partnership arrangement with DMCC which they hope to launch in April 2022,” he said.