Street vendors fill vacuum after pandemic cuts major buyers

PEOPLE are buying vanilla beans on the streets in Lae after major buyers stopped buying when the Coronavirus (Covid-19) hit the country.
A grade vanilla beans cost K170 per kilogram, B grade is K80, C grade K60 and D grade or rejected beans is K40.
Street buyer Joash Konnie from Yangoru in East Sepik said he and the others started buying the beans in 2017, competing with major vanilla buyers in the province.
He said after the major buyers withdrew, the street buyers kept the industry going to benefit the many vanilla farmers not only in Morobe but also in Northern, Eastern Highlands and Madang.
“We bought processed vanilla beans from farmers in Morobe, Northern, Eastern Highlands and Madang,” Konnie.
They re-sell to exporters.
Emmanuel Kumun from Wingei in West Yangoru said there were more than 30 buyers in Lae.
“We do have competition when it comes to buying beans from farmers,” he said. “But that does not affect how we do our business.”
He said when farmers came with beans to sell, the street buyers usually shared among themselves to make sure all had enough for the day.
“Farmers came with all grades of processed vanilla beans. We weigh them and grade them,” Kumun.