Papua New Guinea’s High Commissioner to the UK, Winnie Kiap, tells Business Advantage PNG that the coffee craze in the UK offers huge potential for PNG growers and producers, especially after two successful trade delegations have boosted awareness.

Winnie Kiap, UK High Commissioner Source: Business Advantage International

As the UK government grapples with the complexity of its Brexit decision, which is likely to see the UK withdraw from the European Union sometime before mid-2019, PNG’s High Commissioner to the UK, Winnie Kiap, says PNG needs to realign its economic relationship with London.

‘We have an investment promotion protection agreement with the UK.  We have a double-taxation protection treaty with the UK. But we do not have a trade agreement because the UK, being part of the EU, has no bilateral trade arrangements.

‘Three hundred UK business people attended the forum and were excited by the huge potential investment opportunities they saw in PNG.’

‘PNG’s current relationship with the UK for trade is mainly through the EU,’ she tells Business Advantage PNG.

Trade delegations

Citing the pre-Brexit moves to boost trade and investment ties with the UK, when Prime Minister Peter O’Neill led a business delegation comprising members of parliament, senior government officials and industry chiefs to London in July, 2015, Kiap said 300 UK business people attended the forum and were excited by the huge potential investment opportunities they saw in PNG.

PNG’s UK High Commission Building in London Source: Business Advantage International

‘It was what I would call a very successful meeting with the business houses in London because in this part of the world, more is known about Africa, the Middle East, the Far East, the Caribbean, but very little is known about the Pacific.

‘There is no need for PNG to wait until the  UK’s “divorce” from the EU becomes a reality.’

‘But when that mission came, they all came to listen and interact, and they all stayed the entire day.

‘What the Prime Minister was telling the business people of London was that: “we have opportunities, bring your money and bring your technology.”‘

Four months later, Kiap accompanied a delegation of British companies from London to Port Moresby.

It showed, Kiap says, that there is no need for PNG to wait until the  UK’s ‘divorce’ from the EU becomes a reality.

Coffee generation

While palm oil is perhaps the best-known PNG commodity processed in the UK, coffee has a huge potential in the UK too, Kiap says.

‘They are becoming a big nation of coffee drinkers because the young population now prefers to be identified with coffee than with tea.  It’s a coffee generation. So that’s the market that we have to target.

‘We have huge competition. We are a small producer compared to the African producers or the South American producers.’

‘The supermarket Waitrose is already selling our coffee under Waitrose brand but the label includes “PAPUA NEW GUINEA COFFEE”. Some of our chocolate is also being sold here, labelled as single origin PNG, alongside cocoa.’

Competition

That said, succeeding in the UK market will not be easy.

‘We have huge competition. We are a small producer compared to the African producers or the South American producers.  So we have to work very hard to make sure that we increase the size of our exports.’

Kiap says PNG is beginning to understand that ‘we have to engage with the world, not only in terms of business, to bring in business and to open up PNG as an investment possibility, but to engage in other multilateral policy decision making arenas.’