Minister for Trade Manoa Kamikamica met with the Kava Taskforce and stakeholders today to discuss the developments in the industry.

The Taskforce is led by the Permanent Secretary Agriculture Dr Andrew Tukana.

Potential market access and the need for a proper legal framework to ensure quality control that will assist the local kava industry to grow were discussed.

The absence of a robust system to protect the geographical indication of Pacific and Fiji Kava makes it susceptible to exploitation and misrepresentation by others.

[Source: Fiji Government]

The Kava Bill, which has been proposed since 2016, was discussed at length during the meeting.

The proposed Bill will regulate the industry and safeguard the interests of all stakeholders.

It will also preserve the authenticity of Fiji Kava.

The Kava Bill will undergo an independent review and another round of consultations to ensure that all stakeholders’ inputs are registered.

Trade Minister Manoa Kamikamica says certain agriculture industries are ready to scale up, and it is important to create the necessary framework to position ourselves in the larger market.