Photo: Left: Mr. Julian Baragu, BBM - General Manager for Rumbia Coffee Exports Limited, 2nd Left: Honorable Peter Numu, LLB, BA, MP - The Governor for Eastern Highlands Province Middle: Mr. John Lewins - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for K92 Mining Inc. 2nd Right: Mr. John Gimiseve - Provincial Administrator for Eastern Highlands Provincial Government Right: Mr. Philip Samar - Vice President External for K92 Mining Inc. ( Former Managing Director for Mineral Resource Authority- MRA)
Coffee is a habit for many, it is the second most popular beverage in the world, second only to water. Every day thousands of people wake up to a refreshing cup of coffee. In fact, people around the world consider having a morning cup of coffee a necessary part of their daily lives.
Papua New Guinea is a raw, rugged and magical place and Coffee is the second leading agricultural cash crop in this untamed land. The majority of PNG’s coffee is grown in the Eastern Highlands Province which produces high quality organic Coffee. Coffee was once a premier cash crop pre and post-independence, but lately oil palm has taken over since 2006 as the leader in terms of product and income generation due to a downward trend in coffee production. But still more than 2.5 million people work in Papua New Guinea's Coffee industry and the government earns a lot of money from the exportation of Coffee regardless of its quality.
Goroka, the capital of Eastern Highlands Province is a vibrant region of Humbleness, Food, scenic beauty, Culture and Coffee…. Coffee is weaved into the very fabric of life for communities in Goroka and all throughout EHP. The province is famous for its coffee and has always been associated with it, the quality of Coffee here is rated among the best organic coffee in the world but the value chain from planting, production to exporting is unfair to the local farmers.
Small holders, Coffee buyers and local Coffee farmers in the country have always asked if it is even possible to change the value chain of this multimillion-kina industry in PNG. As this question lingers, The Governor from the main coffee producing areas of PNG wants to help change this process and create a fair marketing system for the benefit of local Coffee growers in his Province.
Hon. Governor for Eastern Highlands Province, Peter Numu has created RUMBIA Coffee Exports a business arm of Eastern Highlands Provincial Government for his people to vastly improve on the methods of big name exporters and competitors by providing competitive pricing to encourage coffee growers in his province to continue to look at coffee as a sustainable way of income.
Governor Numu stated that “In seeing that Coffee has been the backbone of my province for so many years I want to commercialize coffee production in Eastern Highlands from planted seed to roasted bean, everything should remain in the hands of my people. Today, many young people in the province are losing interest in engaging in the coffee business because the income generated from coffee is too low. So it is my goal as governor to change this narrative to make sure those coffee farmers and the people who are involved in the coffee value chain earn better income so that it will attract the younger generation to come back into the coffee business”.
Photo: Coffee bags in the factory
The Governor wants transparency in the coffee business because agriculture and Coffee have been the main income generation avenues for his people and province. While coffee farmers income in Eastern Highlands have fallen in recent years the coffee industry sales in the country has been increasing, this is one of the main reasons why Governor Numu wants to make the coffee trade fairer in order to keep money in the pockets of his local farmers. Most organic coffee producers in Eastern Highlands Province are subsistence farmers that live in remote areas that is the main reason why exportation of quality organic Coffee is a market which Rumbia Coffee is adamant to explore. But at times most organic coffee produce have not made it to buyers in Goroka town due to road conditions.
Since the establishment of Rumbia Coffee in 2019, Governor Numu has subsidized airfreight to these remote areas in order for them to sell their coffee as well as fresh produce. Rumbia Coffee buys their coffee at a higher price; previously parchment coffee was bought at a price of K2.50 per kilogram but since Rumbia coffee’s inception they have started buying at K4.50 per kilogram which then was eventually increased to the current price of K7 prompting other coffee buyers and exporters to do the same. In Time Rumbia aims to increase the price to K10 to allow local farmers all throughout the province to earn a better income
Recently Rumbia Coffee Exports initially exported green coffee beans with a first shipment of 300 bags at the value of K250, 000 to South Korea. Apart from this, RUMBIA coffee has also exported to China and USA as well.
Jullian Baragu General Manager of Rumbia Coffee stated that “We are also in the preliminary stages of exporting to India and the Philippines as well. Our main objective is to help our hardworking coffee farmers in remote locations throughout EHP where it has very good quality organic coffee and are willing to export quality green beans to the overseas market”.
RUMBIA Coffee also aims to rehabilitate coffee plantations in the province as they are accessing more markets for large scale coffee exportation. The former plantations owned and managed by expatriates were returned to customary landowners during the 1970s and 1980s. Rumbia’s General Manager Mr. Baragu said “In the coming year we plan to successfully operate these plantations to produce premium quality coffee as there is an international market that sought-after PNG coffee but currently the quantity of supply that is exported is much less”. RUMBIA Coffee exports have the support of the Governor, the Prime Minister including all stakeholders such as DAL and CIC to manage and operate these plantations.
The processing and Roasting of organic coffee will eventually be done in the Province of production rather than in other countries. The result will be the export of high quality finished product straight to the buyers in other countries cutting any interference from competitors who may decrease the buying price. “This will be an economic boom for the Province creating new jobs and allowing the profits to remain in the Province. I will created a platform for consumers and coffee buyers to deal directly with coffee farmers in Eastern Highlands through RUMBIA coffee. It's one way to increase Provincial internal revenue and keep the money in the hands of his people”.
“PNG coffee relies on a smallholder driven supply chain so efforts for development within the coffee industry must be largely focused on them. The major problem facing the local coffee farmers is the inconsistency in the buying price per kilogram so making the value chain of coffee production transparent and fair to coffee farmers and marketing it at international level is a big goal and that is what Rumbia Coffee Exports is progressing to achieve”. Said Governor Numu.
Rumbia coffee wants to pave the way for a major change in the mindset of smallholders and local coffee growers by showing them the actual worth of their labor with possibilities of a better future for the younger generation. Importantly small holders, coffee farmers, Government agencies such as CIC And DAL must devise appropriate ways to support their Initiative to rehabilitate the coffee industry in the Province as Eastern Highlands Province was once the main source of High-quality coffee exports.
In time RUMBIA Coffee Exports Ltd have made it their intention to promote and showcase the quality of Eastern Highlands Coffee to the international market to create awareness on the High-end organic Coffee that is produced in the province to the world market so interested buyers and importers will pay a higher price for the coffee they enjoy to ensure that the supply is constant and those who produce it earn a fair income.
