Firm hopes to export to Japan

Japan’s import of green bean coffee over the recent years has expanded to 450, 000 tons per year.
The number of countries exporting green coffee beans to Japan stretches out to over 40.
PNG is among other big producing countries, and currently exports only 8 percent of its annual production to the Japanese market.
In 2017, the Coffee Industry Corporation under a partnership agreement with MG Corporation ofJapan entered on a deal to supply high quality coffee to the Japanese market.
CEO of MG Corporation Kama Goundar said after the partnership agreement, projects such as solar pulper system was implemented and launched in Bena, Eastern Highlands. “The aim was to provide electricity to houses in a village, and at the same time use clean energy(solar energy) to process coffee.
He said MG also assisted in procurement of agro chemicals from Japan and marketing and promoting PNG coffee to give confidence to roasters in Japan.
A similar concept was also piloted in Jiwaka and the first shipment of coffee is expected by May 2018for the Japanese market.
Goundar said it will be a big achievement for their partnership projects in PNG, in promoting sustainable coffee production systems,designed with solar energy.
“MG Corporation targets to get 20containers of PNG coffee to Japanas part of its continuous marketing and promotion to various roasters in Japan, and overtime develop a brand for PNG coffee in Japanese market”.
Goundar said there was already an evident interest and demand for PNG coffee and he challenged the PNG coffee industry to seize this opportunity.
“We are targeting whole of Japanas we have more than 50 key clientsat present.”
CIC Chief Executive Officer Charles Dambui alluded that getting into a new market was very challenging, but with the direction and support from MG Corporation,the next phase to sustaining this market looks promising.
Goundar challenged CIC and the PNG government to invest more in research and development for agriculture and new technologies to up scale production.
“We need to understand how we develop our products, understand our resources, what they contain and start from the ground level up.”