Papua New Guinea is one of Australia’s closest geographical neighbours and trade partners – and coffee is primed to play a growing role in the relationship.
Australia is often labelled one of the world’s most isolated countries. The reality, however, tells a different story. Sure, geographically the island continent is far from most other western, English-speaking nations, but the proximity of the Pacific holds significant opportunities.
With the closest point between Australia and Papua New Guinea countries being just four kilometres apart, and mainland-to-mainland distance spanning about 150 kilometres, Australia and PNG are right on each other’s doorsteps.
While Australia’s relationship with the archipelago nation continues to strengthen through policies like the Australia PNG Economic Partnership, and other initiatives like a new PNG team added to Australia’s National Rugby League in 2028, the closeness of Australia’s roasting and café culture and PNG’s producer network remains somewhat distant.
InterAmerican Coffee sees strong potential for PNG coffee in Australia and has been importing coffee from there since the business began in 2020. Now, about eight per cent of coffee imported into Australia comes from the Pacific – much of which comes from PNG.
General Manager Daniel Vella says it makes sense for Australian roasters to turn to coffee from PNG.
“PNG is unique in that it is the freshest possible coffee that we can get. In Australia coffee freshness and vibrancy in cup is highly valued by roasters, cafés and consumers,” says Daniel.
“It’s important as roasters, cafés and consumers value freshness and liveliness in cup, and some origins can present an age risk due to distance or seasonality. PNG is nearby and available almost all year round.
“Using PNG in blends, A, B, or Y grades can give a fresh element to a coffee almost all year round as PNG also has a fly-crop. Short sea freight time of 10 to 20 days to our east coast and the excellent practices of New Guinea Highlands Coffee Exports (NGHCE), who minimise time coffee is held at lower altitude in Lae prior to shipment support freshness, effectively make PNG Australia’s ‘local’ coffee source.”
InterAmerican Coffee partners with NGHCE to bring PNG coffee into Australia and is working to challenge common misconceptions, particularly the mistaken belief that PNG coffee lacks quality.
“PNG coffee is often thought of as a bulk coffee or ‘filler’ and many roasters believe it to be of lesser quality,” says Daniel.
“The reason for this is that most PNG coffees are Y and B grades, these are coffees which are prepared by the producers rather than in a traditional washed process.
“These can lack some quality and consistency, however, that is not always the case. There are many high-quality B grades from more established supply chains where producers have had more education and training on coffee processing.
“NGHCE strongly promotes this offering excellent training for producers, it has long established B grade supply chains to guarantee this extra quality.
“We have year-on-year B grade consistency in significant volume.”
Daniel says there are PNG A grades that are more traditionally prepared. These A grades are processed using a traditional washed process where producers must deliver their coffee in cherry form to a wet mill on the day of harvest.
“These coffees are much less common in PNG as many producers cannot reach a wet mill due to lack of volume, transport and lack of proximity to a wet mill,” he says.
“We embrace Y and B grades as purchase of these grades supports small coffee producers who lack scale, resources, and infrastructure.
“There is a wide spectrum of flavours that can be found in the A grades and excellent qualities comparable with premium origins such as Kenya Guatemala and Colombia. We have also each year been able to secure excellent microlots thanks to the team at NGHCE.”
InterAmerican Coffee is preparing a series of cuppings on Australia’s east coast in a bid to further expose potential customers to the quality of PNG coffee.
Cuppings will be held in Melbourne in partnership with Proud Mary Coffee, Brisbane in partnership with Coffee Commune, and Sydney, with registration links and invitations to be sent out in early May 2026.
Raihaan Esat, General Manager of International Coffee Traders, is hosting the Brisbane event. He says the cuppings are an ideal opportunity to further expose roasters to the potential of PNG coffee.
“We are thrilled to co‑host this event in Brisbane and to showcase the exceptional PNG coffees that have been part of our ICT offering for many years,” says Raihaan.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to bring the community together and highlight the quality and diversity of PNG producers.”
Pacific Trade Invest Australia (PTI), the trade and investment promotion agency for the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, is helping drive the presence of PNG coffee in Australia, connecting Pacific businesses with commercial opportunities in international markets.
Trade Commissioner of PTI, Tim Martin, says Australia is one of the most developed specialty coffee markets in the world.
“Australian roasters are highly engaged with origin, quality and traceability, and those are all areas where PNG producers have a strong story to tell,” says Tim.
“For producers, it means access to a sophisticated market that understands coffee and values differentiation, while for Australian roasters it provides access to a nearby origin with a wide range of flavour profiles.”
With coffee not only being one of PNG’s most established export industries, but one of its highest growth potential agricultural products, Tim says there’s significant opportunity for the commodity to bring the two nations even closer together.
“Papua New Guinea is Australia’s largest trading partner in the Pacific and, importantly, it’s also our closest neighbour in the region. That proximity naturally creates strong economic ties, particularly in sectors like agriculture where trade relationships can develop quite directly between producers and buyers,” says Tim.
“Coffee supports hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers across the country. From Australia’s perspective, PNG is also the region’s primary supplier of coffee.”
While the most common coffee varietals grown in PNG are Arusha and Typica, Tim says there is not only significant potential to engage with the origin stories of coffee in PNG, but to engage with the variety of coffee grown there.
“One of the biggest opportunities is deeper engagement with origin. PNG produces a remarkably diverse range of coffees depending on region, altitude and processing methods, but many Australian roasters are still only beginning to explore that diversity.
“Ultimately, strong coffee trade is built on relationships. By creating spaces where exporters and Australian roasters can connect, share knowledge and explore coffees together, we’re hoping to see new sourcing conversations emerge and long-term partnerships develop from there.”
For more information, visit interamericancoffee.com.au
InterAmerican Coffee’s PNG Coffee Roadshow will take place in Brisbane on 19 May, Melbourne on 21 May, and Sydney on 27 May 2026. Tickets will be available here.
This article appears in the April 2026 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
