Pentecost chiefs call on Gov’t for kava factory and mechanisation
December 3, 2025 9:33 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
By Hilaire Bule.
The Pentecost Island Council of Chiefs, Bilmalvanua, has resolved in its annual meeting at Amagilua on North Pentecost last week to ask the national government to build a kava factory and to mechanise its planting.
Chairman of Bilmalvanua, Chief Graim Tevimeme, said chiefs and farmers of Pentecost are tired of sending kava to Port Vila and Luganville only to receive the “skin” of the real value of the product.
“Pentecost was the first island in Vanuatu to promote the commercialisation of kava in Port Vila in the early 1980s, and farmers are still sending it to Port Vila and Luganville today,” he said. “If some farmers like my father had not initiated the commercialisation, its market would not have reached the level it has today.
“The farmers who first sent kava to Port Vila to the late Charlot Longwah did not know it would later become one of the main sources of revenue for farmers and for the government.”
He said at that time, kava was mainly consumed in Tanna and Pentecost as a traditional drink and used in traditional ceremonies.
Chief Tevimeme said because people from these two islands began moving to Port Vila, it led to the establishment of the first kava bars at Anamburu by the late Francois Molgos and the late John Binihi.
The Chairman of Bilmalvanua said the initiative of a few farmers of Pentecost and the late Longwah led other islands to begin farming kava.
Chief Tevimeme said after more than 40 years of exporters and middlemen making billions of vatu from kava on the backs of farmers, it is time for Pentecost and other kava-producing islands to process it locally and receive its real value.
Bilmalvanua heard during its meeting that the price of kava has rapidly increased and continues to rise.
Currently, a kilo of dried kava chips is VT2800, and dried roots is VT3800.Chief Tevimeme said more buyers are now going directly to farmers.
He said Bilmalvanua wants to see its people sell their kava directly from a factory on the island to end the exploitation by middlemen.
He said prices are increasing because demand is high, and to maintain supply, the kava industry must be mechanised.
An American involved in the kava business in New York told the Daily Post during his recent visit to Port Vila and Santo that there are 50 kava bars in New York alone, but they face issues with quality.
Chief Tevimeme said the only way to control quality is to build factories on islands such as Pentecost so traceability is easier from the farm level.
“Now with the high price, there is no quality control by either farmers or exporters, and this could lead to another ban on kava like what happened in Europe,” he said.
The Chairman of Bilmalvanua is from Bwatnapni, the main anchorage of Pentecost, which sends large quantities of kava to local and international markets.
A farmer of South Pentecost, Donald Wabak, said since the commercialisation of Vanuatu’s traditional drink in the early 1980s, nothing has been done by the government to support farmers.
He said today it seems the government is more focused on selling Vanuatu passports than addressing issues around kava.
The recent concerns raised were from former ministers Sethy Regenvanu and James Bule and former Prime Minister Barak Tame Sope, who asked the government to stop selling passports.
Concerns followed the latest report of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into Vanuatu’s Citizenship Programme and related matters, including allegations of illegal sales of diplomatic passports.
Mr. Wabak said the government is turning a blind eye to the main source of revenue for island communities, which is kava.
He said the passport scheme benefits politicians and their associates, while kava supports families, including children, adults, widows, and people with disabilities.
“Thousands of people in Port Vila and Luganville earn money every day from kava, not from passports,” he said.
“The government should focus more on developing the kava sector because it is a lasting source of revenue for the people of Vanuatu. Selling passports will not last and only benefits a few.”
Mr. Wabak backed Bilmalvanua’s resolution, saying the high demand for kava means farmers on Pentecost need mechanisation and more feeder roads.
He said the 10 million kava plants the government plans to achieve by 2030 means little to farmers without machinery to clear bushland and easier access to plantations.
Mr. Wabak said people are spending too much time clearing land and transporting kava to the coast. He said even though South Pentecost is one of the richest kava-producing areas, the only feeder road they have seen is the one linking Pangi on the west to Ranwas on the east, built during the time of Maxime Carlot Korman as Prime Minister.
Mr. Wabak said now that the island is developing its infrastructure, the government should consider building a factory on the island so farmers receive the real value of their traditional drink.
“We want the finished product on Pentecost. It will be easier for farmers to bring their kava to the factory instead of continuing to send it to Port Vila and Luganville,” he said.
“In the past it was okay, but today Pentecost has electricity and water, which are essential for a factory, just like in Port Vila and Luganville. God blessed us with kava, and we need the government’s assistance to focus on developing it.”
Mr. Wabak thanked the government for clearing the new road linking Pangi to Point Cross and said this road will encourage more farmers from Londar, Bay Martely, Point Cross and nearby bush villages to plant more kava.
He said the clearance is expected to reach Point Cross before Christmas, as it has already reached Londar. Mr.Wabak said the 11-kilometre road will not only encourage more planting but will also end the need for farmers to use boats to transport their products to Pangi, the main anchorage for South Pentecost.
The value of kava exports in international markets in 2024 is over VT6 billion.
