Pacific Nations Plan Bid to Protect Kava
It is an evening ritual familiar in towns and villages across Vanuatu. Before sunset, many people stop for “mae taem” - having a shell of kava and some conversation with friends.
The beverage is woven deeply into life in the Pacific Island nation, and for kava exporter Jon Naupa, its importance to family incomes is hard to overstate.
“It’s like our oxygen,” he says. Naupa operates his business, Mount Kava, near the capital city Port Vila.
He sees growers put children through school and pay medical bills using income from the crop. He says it is a natural livelihood for many - despite the country’s development challenges.
“It helps you bridge all that,” he says.
Vanuatu is joining other Pacific nations looking overseas to generate more income from kava, as demand for the crop grows and potential new markets open.
It is estimated the crop made up half of Vanuatu’s exports in 2020. Kava was calculated to be about 28 percent of Tonga’s exports that year, while Fiji also sells large amounts to customers abroad. One part of the region’s new export push is to protect kava with a geographical indication (GI). That is a marker saying a product comes from a particular region, giving it a unique quality or reputation.
It could work similarly to other GI around the world - including most famously for Champagne, a marker for sparkling wine from that region of France.
Growing demand
Pacific Island nations are considering the protections as growers outside the region begin to produce kava, including in parts of mainland U.S.
Pacific value chain specialist Sanfred Smith says a GI, marking kava as a Pacific product, would protect its reputation and build consumer trust.
“It is a culturally significant crop with a long history and traditional use in ceremonies, and social gatherings across the region,” he says.
“In recent years, there has been a growing global demand for kava due to its purported relaxation and stress relief properties.
“Now as a result, the commercialisation of kava presents opportunities for Pacific nations to capitalise on this demand and generate revenue through exports.”
Pacific Islands Forum secretariat trade policy officer Sapai Moana Matariki says a GI for kava could increase its value and bring more income to the region.
“We have to start now to look at how we can protect the name and the cultural aspects of kava,” she says.