Coffee, election preps boost for EHP economy

THE Eastern Highlands economy is picking up due to the coffee season and the general election preparations, an official says.
Goroka chamber of commerce and industry president Chris Anders said: “We are currently seeing quite a bit of money being spent in the economy.
“This is mainly election-related and comes in the form of roads, automotive and equipment supplies.
“Companies in this line of business are currently seeing excellent returns.
“Coffee is the main industry in the Eastern Highlands.
“The national election is always held right in the middle of the coffee season.
“This impacts the harvest as people follow the candidates who provide feasts and hand out cash rewards.
“It is very hard to get the crop picked and delivered for sale.”
Anders said two things “currently in our favour is that the New York coffee price is quite high which gives an incentive for the coffee to be picked”.
“Some areas have had very good flowerings so it looks like we are looking at a fairly good volume year,” he said.