Fiji’s Coffee Revolution: A Local Brew for Global Impact

The South Pacific Coffee Company, a fully Fijian-owned business established during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, is dedicated to enhancing Fiji’s coffee industry. Based in Nadi, the company prides itself on sourcing entirely wild and naturally organic coffee grown in various regions across Fiji.

In an interview with The Fiji Times, operations manager Maikeli Dennis discussed the company’s vision of expanding local coffee supply for the tourism sector. He emphasized the need to motivate local farmers to consider coffee as an additional crop, thereby creating a stronger local coffee culture. Currently, 95 to 98 percent of hotels and tourism businesses in Fiji rely on imported coffee, highlighting a significant opportunity for local providers.

Dennis shared insights on their partnerships with Fiji’s Hotel and Tourism Association to promote local coffee, alongside collaborations with educational institutions like the University of the South Pacific. By training future hospitality professionals about coffee value, he hopes to boost appreciation for the local product.

Moreover, the company has made strides in engaging communities, particularly rural women farmers in remote highlands, helping them understand the long-term benefits of cultivating coffee. Dennis noted that coffee is a generational crop that can provide stable income for decades, allowing families to benefit from its cultivation.

This local initiative resonates with wider efforts across the country to revitalize the coffee sector and prioritize domestic production. Industry leaders point to both the environmental sustainability of cultivating coffee and the economic empowerment it promises to local communities, which could reduce reliance on imported products and enhance self-sufficiency.

As Fiji’s coffee potential is increasingly recognized, these endeavors reflect a promising trajectory for both economic growth and community development. The collaborative approaches being adopted suggest a hopeful future, where local resources are harnessed to not only improve living standards but also elevate Fiji’s status in the global coffee market.