PNG coffee, cocoa and vanilla on high demand

By PETER ESILA
Papua New Guinea coffee, cocoa and vanilla is in high demand in the United States, says an expert.
Edward Gresser, assistant US trade representative trade policy and economies, who came under the US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), said this to Government and private sector representatives at an awareness workshop in Port Moresby yesterday.
He said PNG coffee was being served at Starbucks cafes. “You can see Papua New Guinea coffee in a lot of the American coffee shops,” Gresser said.
He and GSP director Lauren Gamache are here based on the outcome of the bilateral discussions held between deputy US trade representative Jeffrey Gerrish and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Rimbink Pato during the Apec trade ministers’ meeting in May.
The GSP programme is a US government arrangement that enables market accessibility there. “We also see also gas (opportunities),” Gresser said.
“GSP offers some opportunities to broaden that out with some manufactured goods, maybe some more processed foods.
“I think that PNG has a large traditional export portfolio of resource products than agriculture.
“I think, developmentally, it is good to add manufacturing and processed foods. It is very useful when you think about the future.
Gresser said GSP was about reducing tariffs.
“There are about 3500 products that are covered by the programme that would otherwise have tariffs. We have a lot of countries, 120 of them, that are evolved in it and each of them have their strengths of specialisations,” he said.
Edward Kepa from the SME Cooperation said GSP programme is a good opportunity for local SMEs to see whether their products were classified under GSP.