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been the main income generation avenues for his people and province. While coffee farmers’ income in Eastern Highlands have fallen in recent years, 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, which is 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 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.

Rumbia Coffee Exports initially exported green coffee beans with a first shipment of 300 bags at the value of K250,000 to South Korea. Rumbia coffee has also exported to China and USA as well.

Jullian Baragu, General Manager of Rumbia Coffee, stated: “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 cof-

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The government must now think about creating a strategy to facilitate the raising of equity capital for fresh resource fee export. The former plantations (Photo left) Rumbia projects. owned and managed by expatri- Coffee Exports

Dr Ila Temu, country executive ates were returned to customary Launching, Goroka director for Barrick Niugini Lim- landowners during the 1970s and National Park. ited, stated that one of the major 1980s. (Photo right) challenges that must be resolved Rumbia’s General Manager Mr. Roasted coffee is the financing of equity for resource projects in the nation. Baragu said: “In the coming year we plan to successfully operate beans from Rumbia Coffee.

According to him, in the early these plantations to produce premigoing in Porgera and Lihir, they um quality coffee, as there is an inwere able to secure preferential ternational market that sought-affinancing from EXIM banks thanks ter PNG coffee but currently the to a government-to-government connection, and that’s how they paid for the equity for Porgera landowners and Lihir landowners. As there is presently no plan in quantity of supply that is exported is much less”. Rumbia Coffee exports have the support of the Governor, the Prime Minister, and all stakeholders such as the Department of Agriculture place, Dr Temu questioned how and Livestock and Coffee Industry the government is getting ready Corporation to manage and operto fund the additional stock that ate these plantations. they must purchase for the new The processing and roasting of orprojects. ganic coffee will eventually be done

He emphasised that the gov- in the province of production rather ernment does have Kumul Petrole- than in other countries. The result will um, which owns the ownership in be the export of high-quality finished product straight to the buyers in oth- To Page 80 >

LNG, and that Kumul is organising the money for the equity when it occurs for the Papua LNG project.

According to him, a commercial firm receives funds from another entity to help it conduct its business.

“I’m of the view that the conces-

Government must raise resource equity, says Barrick official

sional funding either from bilateral or multilateral is still a good way to fund the equity for resource project,” Dr Temu said. “I think we should explore that a bit more, this is something to live with the new Members of Parliament.” A finance mechanism that may support the purchase of equity for the state, the government, or the landowners must be put in place, according to him, and this requires government policies and actions. According to Dr. Temu, the mining and petroleum industries have done very well over the Dr. Ila Temu, country executive director of Barrick Niugini Limited past 30 to 40 years in arranging both the ownership debate and the benefit distribution in a way that permits rights to everyone who is touched. “Moving forward, there is plenty of room for change and that includes to finding the right pathway on how the government can acquire equity funds for new projects that are in place,” he said.

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