Only five cocoa exporters active out of 28, says Gaupu

By JIMMY KALEBE
PAPUA New Guinea currently has 28 locally-owned cocoa export licences and of that, only five are active, says PNG Cocoa Board (PNGCB) chief executive officer Boto Gaupu.
He said the five active licensees were currently involved in buying and exporting bags of dried cocoa bean.
According to Gaupu, those active exporters were from East Sepik, Madang and East New Britain.
“Those exporters came out from those areas because they (provinces) produced the quantity or volume in metric tonnes that met overseas markets want,” he said.
He said the board, before giving an export licence to any group, had to first know if that particular area could produce the volume to supply international markets.
Given that scenario, some cocoa export organisations were invited to partner with local producers and provincial governments, but some still could not find enough volume being produced.
“When there is no volume produced locally, there are tendencies that operational costs will be very high and that income generation will be very poor,” he said.
Gaupu said that was why local farmers needed to increase their volumes by increasing their plantations so that local exporters would be invited in as then, they (local exporters) would have the volume needed to supply international markets.
“Currently, PNGCB, in its strategies, are encouraging farmers to form cocoa co-operative groups to negotiate for the best deals in transportation, freight and sign contracts with exporters for farmers to get maximum benefits,” he said.
Gaupu said when farmers formed co-operative groups, they would be able to meet the volumes needed and they could then bargain for better deals instead of exporters setting a standard price for the farmers.
Meanwhile, Gaupu said Karamui in Chimbu had lately exported 41 metric tonnes of bags of dried cocoa bean under the PNGCB freight subsidy programme.
He said the other two Highlands provinces that cocoa was grown were Jiwaka and Western Highlands.
He said that with climate change experienced globally, the potential for cocoa in the Highlands region was picking up.