Access to the Australian market to export Kava must not be squandered away by dropping the ball on the quality of the product.

Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, says the pilot project to explore the potential for Fiji kava in Australia is the chance of a lifetime for farmers and exporters.

“What is critically important is to ensure that we have quality of product, we need to have consistency in the quality. A number of years ago when kava was at its height in terms of the world market space, there were issues regarding quality. If you want to retain a good foothold in the Australian market and also for authorities to have confidence, you need to ensure new levels of transparency.”

Australian Minister for the Pacific, Zed Seselja, says they are not ignorant of kava’s significance on numerous levels.

“We’ve launched a pilot for the importation of Fijian kava and I know how important kava is for cultural reasons, and also for trade diversification. We’re also looking at how we can help Fiji’s agricultural exports access the Australian market.”

Local exporters of kava must meet Australian standards before they are given the greenlight to send over their products.