Local coffee firm looking to reap full potential, says exec

By ZACHERY PER
OK Coffee Corporation in Jiwaka has huge potential to circulate millions of kina among the people in Waghi Valley, director Michael Tee Pau says.
He said the company paid out nearly K200,000 in labour wages fortnightly but during peak periods with more labour casuals engaged as cherry pickers the payouts were between K1 million and K2 million.
“We engage over 500 pickers in each of the two divisions, plus over 600 labourers in each division, we employ 1,000 to 1,500 of them,” Pau said.
“Every community financial obligation such as bride price, school fees, compensation to mention a few are all set for six mun (sixth month) coffee peak period.
“The day is usually set a payday Friday when OK Coffee Corporation pays out, the entire Waghi Valley is flushed with cash,” he said.
Pau said the company had 700 to 800 hectares of matured coffee trees producing quality cherries from the garden and channeled through to the export stage.
“We don’t go looking for coffee, we buy from 10 small holder block holders each with 10 to 20 hectares that OK Coffee Corporation assisted with loans and helped them set up and in return supply cherries back to the company since then,” he said.
Ok Corporation operates two of the Highlands region’s biggest coffee plantations Kopun and Kimil plantations which are located in Jiwaka’s Waghi Valley which has some 100,000 hectares of vacant land yet to be planted with new trees from the coffee nurseries.
“We plant, harvest, pulp, ferment, dry and process green beans and export overseas, we have been doing this for last 50 years.
“We go from the start to finish maintaining quality all through the process,” Pau said.
“We are experienced coffee entrepreneurs in business for over 50 years. We have kept operating since 1976.
“Despite the current increase in production costs, Coronavirus incursion and coffee berry borer (CBB), operation declined but with sheer determination we pushed on to produce green beans helping the country’s coffee industry to export,” Pau said.
He said despite their perseverance as a company, they still need state assistance to maintain and boost operations as they were a nationally owned company that provided employment and an income for a large number of people in the Highlands.
“We do not need K100,000 or K200,000 which is not enough, we need K1 million to K2 million, we have the potential to produce the volume.
“From 2005 to 2011 we produce more than 100 containers of green beans in a year, there are 300 green bean bags each weighing 60kg, when you multiply 60kg by 300 bags its 18 tones per container.
“The 18 tonnes multiplied by 100 containers its 18,000 tonnes of coffee every year, we have this potential to bring in foreign currency in export to help the country. But we need Government incentives and interventions,” Pau said.