Kiribati's considerable kava consumption
Vanuatu kava growers at work
Photo:
Hilaire Bule
Kiribati was the world's largest consumer of Vanuatu kava in 2024.
The
Vanuatu Daily Post
reported that last year the country imported 280 metric tonnes of kava from Vanuatu.
Michael Louze, former chairman of the Vanuatu Kava Industry and a kava exporter to the United States, said when you break it down, it's about four kilograms of kava per person annually if half the population drinks.
"Some drink more, some less. But even at that level, it's a solid figure for a country this size."
In 2023, China was the world's largest importer of raw kava, but 99 per cent of it went towards extract production for re-export.
"China was never a market for kava," Louze said.
"It made more sense for the bulk product to go through China. But in Kiribati, it's different. They're drinking it - no processing, no re-export. Pure consumption."
But one Kiribati kava bar owner, Kantaake Robapi, said there's too many of them now.
"Each village has a kava bar. There are too many kava bars in Kiribati.
"You pay AUD$150 [approximately US$97] for a licence. The Ministry of Health checks the premises - the toilets, tools for cleaning kava. Once they approve, you pay your fee to the Tarawa council."
Kiribati's Minister for Women, Youth and Sports, Ruth Cross Kwansing, has raised concerns about kava's effects on society.
Kwansing told the
ABC
the impact of high kava consumption is being felt at homes.
"If fathers aren't home with their children and their wives, then obviously they're not looking after their families and their children," she said.
"If they're spending all the money on kava, then where's the funds that the family needs for food and basic essentials?"
She said men were exhausted from late-night kava drinking and not able to cut toddy or go out fishing and were not productive at home.
Meanwhile, Tonga is calling on fellow Pacific kava producers to follow its lead in restricting the export of kava for extraction - a move that has sparked strong pushback from Vanuatu and Fiji, the region's two largest kava exporters.
Tonga's positioncomes from concerns over cultural erosion and potential misuse, and promotes the idea that kava should only be consumed in its traditional, drinkable form - not processed into extracts for capsules, powders, or supplements abroad.
There's also worries about a shortage in Vanuatu.
Louze linked the shortage to several causes: the increasing number of kava farmers joining seasonal work programmes in Australia and New Zealand, damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Harold on Pentecost in 2020, and growing demand in the Port Vila market.
A kava plant takes more than five years to mature before it can be harvested.
"People in Port Vila are consuming tons of kava every week, but they are not planting it," he said.
"The population is growing rapidly, and more young men and women are drinking kava daily."
But he also said farmers cannot go wrong with planting kava with demand both locally and internationally growing, and prices have never been so high.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Study finds Māori, Pacific communities can reshape media narratives
Brown Buttabean Motivation founder Dave Letele. Photo: Stuff / David White A new study shows Māori and Pasifika community initiatives can use media stereotypes to create their own narrative. The University of Auckland study, 'Taking the mic: Māori and Pacific voices in the media' examined the success of Brown Buttabean Motivation (BBM), New Zealand's largest community-based fitness and well-being organisation throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the study's lead author Dr Sandra Smith, senior marketing lecturer at the University of Auckland, over time, and especially during lockdowns, BBM became "much more than just a bootcamp and how to eat healthy". "It became an extension of whānau and a safe space where support could be provided to members in need. This finding echoes the notion that Māori and Pacific people are likely to seek help from family and community rather than from formal health providers," she said. University of Auckland senior marketing lecturer Dr Sandra Smith says organisations working to assist Indigenous and diverse communities should take control of their narrative in the news rather than reacting to media coverage. Photo: Supplied / William Chea / University of Auckland Outlined in the report, Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa face entrenched socio-economic and health gaps, including lower life expectancy and higher obesity rates. "Māori have experienced socio-economic deprivation because of colonisation and racism, manifesting in their significantly reduced life expectancy compared to non-Māori. Similarly, Pacific people also experience socio-economic and health inequities," the study said. "These health inequities were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, requiring a consideration of the changing experiences and requirements of diverse communities." Smith said these disparities can be worsened by mainstream media that frame health as an individual's responsibility, rather than a societal one. "Media narratives can shape how others view Māori and Pacific people and how Māori and Pacific people view themselves," Smith said, noting past decades of biased coverage. "So, we were interested in whether the media was actually reflecting the community in an accurate way, in a truthful way, or in a biased way." Pre-COVID, the study found that news media themes were consistently in line with high attendance at BBM's bootcamp. However, COVID-19 created different issues for the community and BBM adapted to the new environment and focused on new function programmes in response. Photo: Screenshot / Graph / University of Auckland Using the kaupapa Māori framework, Te Whare Tapa Whā and Pacific framework Fonofale, the researchers analysed 102 media articles and interviews (27 before Covid-19, 75 during) via computer-assisted tools and member checks with BBM. They tracked shifts in top media themes, such as Letele, people, weight, life and boxing, food, health, lockdown, children, and community support. "Covid-19 created different issues for the community. BBM adapted… New themes such as food, lockdown and children are reflective of this adaptation," Smith said. "It became more than just a bootcamp, but a community [and] a whānau." The study found that as gyms shut due to lockdown restrictions, BBM's strong social-media presence which let it livestream workouts, share health information and organise food parcels - became a safe space for whānau. "That's where they reach out to each other. That's how they perhaps coped when people were being locked down, losing their jobs, not knowing where their next healthy meal was coming from. That was a place where people obviously used those channels to connect." Smith said from previous research in the health space, specific communities - including Māori and Pacific - will respond better to their own people when it comes to disseminating important information or getting advice. "They're a lot more trusting of people within their own community. So, I think BBM then became a very important conduit for perhaps some of the health messaging helping people to navigate through some of the confusions around the time of the pandemic." Despite some lingering stereotypes, media coverage of BBM was "reasonably friendly… and reasonably accurate", the researchers found. "It's good to see that the media was reasonably friendly towards this community and was reasonably accurate. It wasn't perfect, but that was one of the key findings," Smith said. Dave Letele in studio with Guyon Espiner. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Letele's ability to co-create his own media narrative was a stand out finding, Smith said. "Dave's own celebrity status… he was quite proactive and quite good at co-creating the narrative with the media rather than just having the media telling his story." Smith hopes this study will inspire other community-based groups to pick up the mic and tell their own stories. "I saw that Dave was very proactive in actually reaching out to the media, ensuring that the community's story was told accurately... I think communities can take a more proactive stance," she said. "Not necessarily waiting for mainstream media to create your narrative, but using the media channels that they're using themselves to tell their story." She said this specific study is a great way of learning about how Māori and Pacific people benefited from having a community like BBM. "I think we can all take something out of this story." The paper is published in the Pacific Health dialogue - a journal dedicated to health issues in the Pacific region - and is connected to a larger post-doctoral research project led by co-author, Dr Fa'asisila Savila (Pacific Health) and funded by the Health Research Council.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Fiji's anti corruption commissioner suspended
Fiji's coalition government continues to struggle at bringing democratic processes back after 16 years of dictatorship. (Supplied) Photo: ABC/Supplied Fiji's prime minister has announced the suspension of the Commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC). Barbara Malimali - who was also the Electoral Commission chairperson - was revealed as the new Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) commissioner last September. The announcement was causing a stir due to it being unclear if she held the Electoral Commission chairperson role at the time of appointment - raising concerns about conflict of interest. But then, Malimali was taken for questioning by FICAC officers. The following day, FICAC put out a statement saying Malimali was back in office and ready to lead FICAC. The statement said that Malimali stated she would not let those events deter her from performing her duties as prescribed under the law. Then on Thursday night, 29 May, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka posted on social media that the president had taken several actions in response to recommendations of a report by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the appointment of the FICAC Commissioner. "Barbara Malimali has been suspended with immediate effect as Commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, pending investigation by the Fiji police force of allegations against her raised in the COI report," Rabuka wrote. Lisiate Fotofili's appointment as acting deputy Commissioner of FICAC has been rescinded, "and he returns to his substantive position in the Fiji judiciary", Rabuka said. The 648-page COI report was transmitted on 14 May, his post said. Lavi Rokoika has been appointed as acting Commissioner. Rabuka asked for patience "as we carefully map the implementation of the COI report". "I am committed to release of the report which is funded by the people of Fiji. "However this will be done in a manner to ensure that investigations are not prejudiced, civil rights of accused persons are respected and the rule of law maintained."
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Kiribati's considerable kava consumption
Vanuatu kava growers at work Photo: Hilaire Bule Kiribati was the world's largest consumer of Vanuatu kava in 2024. The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that last year the country imported 280 metric tonnes of kava from Vanuatu. Michael Louze, former chairman of the Vanuatu Kava Industry and a kava exporter to the United States, said when you break it down, it's about four kilograms of kava per person annually if half the population drinks. "Some drink more, some less. But even at that level, it's a solid figure for a country this size." In 2023, China was the world's largest importer of raw kava, but 99 per cent of it went towards extract production for re-export. "China was never a market for kava," Louze said. "It made more sense for the bulk product to go through China. But in Kiribati, it's different. They're drinking it - no processing, no re-export. Pure consumption." But one Kiribati kava bar owner, Kantaake Robapi, said there's too many of them now. "Each village has a kava bar. There are too many kava bars in Kiribati. "You pay AUD$150 [approximately US$97] for a licence. The Ministry of Health checks the premises - the toilets, tools for cleaning kava. Once they approve, you pay your fee to the Tarawa council." Kiribati's Minister for Women, Youth and Sports, Ruth Cross Kwansing, has raised concerns about kava's effects on society. Kwansing told the ABC the impact of high kava consumption is being felt at homes. "If fathers aren't home with their children and their wives, then obviously they're not looking after their families and their children," she said. "If they're spending all the money on kava, then where's the funds that the family needs for food and basic essentials?" She said men were exhausted from late-night kava drinking and not able to cut toddy or go out fishing and were not productive at home. Meanwhile, Tonga is calling on fellow Pacific kava producers to follow its lead in restricting the export of kava for extraction - a move that has sparked strong pushback from Vanuatu and Fiji, the region's two largest kava exporters. Tonga's positioncomes from concerns over cultural erosion and potential misuse, and promotes the idea that kava should only be consumed in its traditional, drinkable form - not processed into extracts for capsules, powders, or supplements abroad. There's also worries about a shortage in Vanuatu. Louze linked the shortage to several causes: the increasing number of kava farmers joining seasonal work programmes in Australia and New Zealand, damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Harold on Pentecost in 2020, and growing demand in the Port Vila market. A kava plant takes more than five years to mature before it can be harvested. "People in Port Vila are consuming tons of kava every week, but they are not planting it," he said. "The population is growing rapidly, and more young men and women are drinking kava daily." But he also said farmers cannot go wrong with planting kava with demand both locally and internationally growing, and prices have never been so high.
