PNG coffee in demand

PAPUA New Guinea produces some of the highest quality coffee in the world, an international buyer says.
The buyer, Morten Wennersgaard, from the Solberg and Hansen Company of Norway, said demand was high for quality coffee in many countries.
Wennersgaard made the comment last week in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, when he visited the Mandan coffee and tea plantation in Anglimp district.
“PNG needs to maintain its standard of producing quality coffee for its consumers in the world,” he said.
Wennersgaard said he bought coffee from the Mandan coffee and tea plantation trading as the Highlands Arabicas Ltd because it supplied them with quality coffee.
He said S&H “embodies the dreams of the specialty coffee movement”.
He said local coffee bought from the Highlands Arabicas Ltd was supplied to close to 600 stores and coffee bars in Norway.
Wennersgaard said their primary customers were specialty stores and coffee bars.
“We are happy to inform PNG that all leading retail outlets around the country (Norway) will buy from S&H and that is good news,” he said
He said Norwegians drank the most coffee in the world at 10.7kg per person compared to the United States 3kg a person annually.
Wennersgaard said the company had the most dedicated crew, members of whom constantly travelled around the world in search of the perfect bean.
“Producer relations mean everything to the company and they develop and maintain those relationships by working together to provide the best beans possible for their markets,” he said.
He said they visited friends quite frequently and had built a trustworthy relationship with complete transparency for both parties.
He said this “vertical” approach from “seed to cup” was unique and “it is the only way the company always gets what it asked for in terms of green beans”.