Papua New Guinea

Explosion of Coffee

Though they did yield some commercial success, most of these early plantings were experimental. It was only in the 1920s that efforts to ramp up production were truly made. For the most part, these early plantations were of Robusta; however, in 1928 an experimental plot of Arabica was planted at the colonial government’s Department of Agriculture station at Wau in the district of Morobe, east of the Owen Stanley mountain range. This plantation was sold in 1931 to the German entrepreneur, Carl Leopold Bruno Wilde.  He re-named the plantation Blue Mountain Coffee and began to develop production further, eventually roasting and grinding the coffee to sell domestically and overseas.  It is from this plantation that much the coffee currently produced in the Highlands of PNG derives.

From the Blue Mountain plantation, the coffee was carried to a colonial research station in the valley of Aiyura in the Eastern Highlands. Over the years, the station distributed seeds throughout the highlands, and it was from these beginnings that coffee – finding itself in a climate and terrain perfect for its development – truly made the majestic highland country of Papua New Guinea its home.

Commercial coffee production in PNG really picked up in the post-war years.  Between 1951 and 1965, areas planted under coffee grew from 147 ha to 4,800 ha (a growth of over 3000%).  However, although PNG still boasts large plantations similar to its beginnings, the introduction of coffee to the highlands opened up the industry to smallholder farmers, who have been responsible for making PNG one of these most notable producer countries in the world. Today, smallholders account for at least 85% of the coffee grown in the country, the majority growing Arabica (95% of the country’s production) at altitudes of 1,500 metres and above.