Papua New Guinea has made its debut in the global coffee market with its inaugural international shipment of green bean coffee from Morobe Province to Dubai. The achievement advances the nation’s trade diversification efforts and accelerates the modernization of its agricultural sector.
Prime Minister James Marape hailed the achievement as a ‘monumental breakthrough’ for the nation’s agricultural sector, signaling a new era in trade expansion.
AFIA PNG, a local agribusiness firm in collaboration with the Morobe Provincial Government, facilitated the inaugural export of 121 bags (7.3 tons) of green bean coffee. The shipment departed from Port Moresby and was airfreighted on Thursday directly to Dubai, with the rest planned for subsequent deliveries.
Morobe ranks as the third-largest coffee-producing province in Papua New Guinea, yielding an annual output of 91,051 bags, based on data from the Coffee Industry Corporation.
“This shipment isn’t just about coffee, it’s about creating viable revenue streams for rural economies, attracting agro-investment, and demonstrating that PNG’s agricultural sector can scale with quality and consistency,” Marape told reporters. He also emphasized that enhancing airfreight and logistics infrastructure will be a key focus to sustain the growth of agricultural exports, with the goal of establishing Papua New Guinea as a boutique supplier for high-end global markets.
As the government implements the National Agriculture Sector Plan (NASP 2024–2033), the export demonstrates the potential of targeted agribusiness to drive non-mineral GDP growth. Officials have outlined plans for similar export initiatives focused on vanilla, cocoa, and palm oil, ensuring localized processing and stringent quality control measures.
AFIA PNG and the Morobe Provincial Government successfully navigated key challenges such as logistics, quality assurance, and market access—common obstacles that often prevent PNG producers from entering global value chains.
Officials see the development as a crucial step in PNG’s push for export-driven growth, strengthening ties with agribusiness investors and expanding trade in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, where demand for premium, traceable goods is rising.
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