Solomon Islands makes historic kava export to Fiji as region watches illicit trade in Australia

The Solomon Islands is celebrating a major step forward in Pacific trade: its first commercial air-freight shipment of dried kava roots and chips to Fiji, showing the growing role of kava in regional economies.

ICSI Logistics Company Limited confirmed the shipment that was scheduled for Saturday, 8 November 2025.

The move follows the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji granting market access for Solomon Islands-grown kava.

The export involves farmers and intermediaries across the Temotu and Malaita provinces, with laboratory tests showing a kavalactone content of 11.8 per cent, among the highest in the Pacific.

Fiji’s Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Sakiusa Tubuna, emphasised the regional importance.

Tubuna tells local media that the regional collaboration helps embed kava production into Pacific lives and identity.

“The interest in kava is not exclusive to Pacific people….there’s been a transition over the past few decades, where the plant has become a growing export commodity.”

But this story has two clear layers: the opportunity in the Solomons and the tougher reality next door in Fiji.

A recent report by ABC Australia reveals that while kava prices are booming in Fiji, many growers are struggling to capitalise because of serious threats from plant diseases and theft.

Staff at ICSI Logistics Company Limited with kava headed to Fiji. Photo/The Solomon Star/The Fiji Times

The ABC reports that farmers say even as prices soar, dieback disease is hitting plantations and theft of kava roots is increasingly common.

“Here in our community, we experience at least three cases of kava theft every week,” Rosa Chute, a Fijian farmer in Sevaci, Vaturova, says. “The price of kava is booming in Fiji, but growers are struggling to capitalise amid threats from plant diseases and theft.”

Gerry Elbourne, a spokesperson for ICSI, says the Fiji situation only reinforces what exporters in the Solomon Islands need to avoid.

He also highlights logistics and integrity issues. He says high freight costs, the burden of transport from remote villages, and off-farm integrity problems are constraining factors.

“This export marks a new chapter for our local farmers and for the Solomon Islands as a whole. We’ve proven that our kava is among the best in the Pacific, and we’re committed to building a transparent and sustainable industry that benefits everyone involved.”

Photo/Supplied

He says these challenges are reminiscent of those Fiji growers are facing, meaning the region must learn together.

He urges the Solomons’ government to engage with Fijian authorities on rules such as pre-shipment fumigation and to work on improving domestic shipping and air-freight infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the complexities of the kava trade were revealed by a recent seizure in the Northern Territory.

Police there arrested a man after allegedly importing 70kg of kava and 72 illegal vapes at Nhulunbuy Airport. The 27-year-old man is charged with commercial-quantity supply of a ‘Schedule 4’ substance.

Fiji's Saqani Kava was among the 70kg haul seized by police in Australia. Photo/Northern Territory Police

The case highlights how kava’s commercial growth can come with regulatory, smuggling, and reputational risks in the wider Pacific context.

As Solomon Islands’ kava begins to reach new markets, Pacific exporters are calling for stronger coordination across island nations to ensure the region’s traditional drink is traded responsibly, and that its economic benefits reach rural communities first.