Parliament Passes Landmark Coffee Industry Bill 2025

By DALCY LULUA

Parliament yesterday unanimously passed the Coffee Industry Bill 2025, with 72 Members of Parliament voting in favour and none against, marking a major milestone in reforming Papua New Guinea’s coffee sector.

The Minister for Coffee and Member for Koroba-Lake Kopiago, Hon. William Bando, presented the Bill, describing it as a “historic legislative reset” that will transform the industry, empower smallholder farmers, and drive economic growth under the Marape-Rosso Government’s “Reset Agenda: PNG at 50 and Beyond.”

The new law repeals the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) Act 1991 and replaces it with the National Coffee Authority (NCA) -a statutory body designed to provide stronger governance, accountability, and regulation of the industry.

“This Bill revolutionizes the coffee industry as a vehicle to stimulate economic growth through increased smallholder participation, downstream processing, job creation and foreign exchange stability,” Minister Bando told Parliament.

He said the old CIC framework had failed to deliver clear governance and farmer-focused incentives, creating inefficiency and weak accountability due to its dual role as a private company and regulator.

The Bill places smallholder farmers — who produce nearly 80 percent of PNG’s coffee at the centre of reform. A key feature is the Green Gold Card (GGC) system, which will register every smallholder by district and link them to bank accounts for direct access to government incentives, training, and input support.

It also introduces price and freight support, promotes community mini-mills, and improves access to finance and extension services to boost productivity and household incomes.

To retain more value within the country, the Bill encourages industrial-scale roasting, grinding, and packaging through multi-year licenses, tax holidays, and duty exemptions for investors. Partnerships with provincial governments and District Development Authorities will also support key infrastructure in coffee-producing regions.

Under the new framework, the Government aims to:

• Increase production from 1 million to 3 million bags by 2030;
• Triple export value from K3 billion to K10 billion through value-adding; and
• Expand smallholder participation to 500,000 farmers, benefiting about 5 million people.

Minister Bando concluded, saying the Bill “hears the cries and plight of our people and aims to alleviate their struggles while fostering economic growth.”

The Coffee Industry Bill 2025 now stands as one of PNG’s most comprehensive agricultural reforms a blueprint for revitalizing the nation’s “green gold” and uplifting rural livelihoods.