Hatavile Coffee Ltd (HCL) in Wantrifu village of Daulo District, Eastern Highlands reached a milestone achievement when it was presented its coffee export license by the Coffee Industry Corporation Ltd (CICL) on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
The license was presented by CIC-PACD Project Manager, Potaisa Hombunaka, and CICL Senior Coffee Inspector, Frank Waipi, to HCL General Manager, Philip Timbie.
Timbie said this comes after years of hard work and assistance from the Coffee Industry Corporation’s Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (CIC-PPAP) and now PACD, CICL, his community, coffee suppliers, family and his Korean business partner, Mr BJ Choi.
“When we started doing coffee work, we were selling green bean locally from our 50-hectare coffee plantation here at Hatavile, but I wanted to go an extra mile, so we worked hard to improve production and most importantly quality”, said Timbie.
The support to rehabilitate his coffee factory and plantation did not take an easy path. A lot of sacrifice, dedication and resources had to be put in to bring it to what it is today- to be granted an export license as a national is a milestone achievement for Timbie and his Wantrifu community
World Bank Senior Agriculture Specialist and PACD Task Team Leader, Allan Oliver who was present to witness the license presentation said such stories brought hope and showed that with the right support from the industry and development partners, it was pleasing to see a community such as Wantrifu receive its export license.
“If you can do it, I think we can do it in any community in PNG. With the right support, the right infrastructure, the right people in the industry to support you, and if it is the industry’s vision to grow the coffee industry, then it is possible.
I am very proud to witness you and your partner’s achievement today. For the bank, it is a success story. It is a good story to tell,” Oliver said.
CIC-PACD Project Manager, Potaisa Hombunaka, said it is time to show politicians and everyone in the industry that we can export coffee from our hauslain.
“We can export coffee from Hatavile! We do not need to be in towns and cities to export coffee. At PACD, a
good number of them are coming up and will export coffee soon,” he said.
Hombunaka highlighted that the reality in the coffee industry is that 90 percent of exporters are Papua New Guineans and 10% of them are multinational companies, however, 10% of multinational companies export 80% of coffee while 90% of Papua New Guineans export 20%.
“We must change that landscape, and change has started, and within 10 years, there will be more Papua New Guinean exporters exporting.
Coffee exporting is not rocket science. It can be exported from rural settings and not in towns only. The growers need to benefit more from the industry. It belongs to the growers, the resource owners.”
CICL Senior Coffee Inspector Frank Waipi said Timbie started as a grower with his 50 Ha coffee plantation.
He was building his coffee warehouse when I started doing inspections at his setup. “During my initial inspections, I submitted a full report to my supervisor. However, the license application was rejected. I told him that he should not give up but to persevere.
”Over the course of five years, HCL did not stop. It kept on working hard and finally ticked all the boxes.
Waipi said the requirements involved investing in coffee production, having a warehouse, processing mill, and the last is to go into third-party exporting to learn the pros and cons of exporting.
He acknowledged Kofi Management Services Ltd (KMSL) for being that conduit for HCL.
Timbie acknowledged the hard work of his wife and children, who have been silently supporting him behind the scenes throughout the years.
“I have been just a front liner to direct the traffic of coffee flow, but you have been my support since the start of this journey.”
He also thanked his boys at the factory house, all his coffee supply chain partners; Mr Takus Irantiweb, David Skairara, Stallon at Henganofi and Meme Wakikura at Okapa and his friends at Maprik, Kimbe, Rabaul, Finschhafen and Popondetta for supplying good quality coffee.
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