The Cocoa Board of Papua New Guinea (CBPNG) launched its Corporate Plan 2026–2028 in Kokopo, East New Britain Province recently, outlining a strategic roadmap to strengthen governance, improve productivity, and build a resilient cocoa industry.
Speaking at the launch on Friday 10 April 2026, Secretary for the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, Koney Samuel, said the plan comes at a critical time for the country’s cocoa sector and provides clear direction for sustainable growth aligned with the Government’s national development agenda.
“Cocoa remains one of Papua New Guinea’s most important agricultural commodities, supporting more than 100,000 smallholder farmers and approximately 151,000 households across 14 cocoa-growing provinces,” Samuel said.
He noted that Papua New Guinea is internationally recognized for producing fine-flavour cocoa, supplying about one percent of the global market, which positions the country competitively in premium export markets.
The Corporate Plan outlines key priorities including expanding production, improving quality standards, promoting downstream processing and value addition, and strengthening market access.
Secretary Samuel urged all stakeholders to work together to achieve the goals set for the cocoa sector.
“It’s time to reposition ourselves to take the country forward. Government sets the framework but the people will change the country when each one engages meaningfully. Cocoa must become a national crop to support development in the country. Samuel said.
Minister for Agriculture, John Boito said this plan aligns with the government’s vision to drive national development through agriculture.
“The Marape-Rosso government is committed to the agriculture sector as a driver of growth and is focused on making PNG a major player in the global cocoa markets. The Cocoa Board has made significant strides to expand cocoa production nationwide. It wants to increase production to 100,000 metric tonnes by 2030,” Boito said.
Chief Executive Officer of the Cocoa Board of PNG Jesse Tukup Anjen said the board is striving to enhance their governance frame-work and the launch of the corporate plan is a vital part of this process.
“As an industry, this is the first of its kind – to have a corporate plan. We’ve never had a corporate plan to operationalize our strategic plan. Now we can realize how the Cocoa Board can position ourselves to deliver on the higher goals and objectives of the government of PNG.
”In this industry, we want cocoa to be the number one export crop in the country. We are delivering in a lot of areas; we are expanding right across the country in 22 provinces and I want us to continue the journey to break new grounds. Cocoa can change your life and we want to make sure that this plan is that aspiration to make Papua New Guinea a better place for our cocoa farmers,” Anjen said.
Representing cocoa exporters in PNG, Ian Sahoto from Outspan PNG said they are keen to look at the new plan and see where they fit into the plan and how they can position themselves to participate in the growth of the cocoa industry.
“We recognize that it is time for change and improvement in the industry. We fully support the Boards initiative to bring our sector into alignment with merging international standards and if PNG Cocoa is to remain a premium player on the global stage, our regulatory framework must speak the same language as the international markets,” Sahoto said.
Board of Chairman of Cocoa Board, John Kassman highlighted sector’s performance in recent years.
“Export earnings also rose significantly from K274.9 million in 2020 to K1.437 billion in 2025.The Government has invested K74 million between 2020 and 2025 through the Public Investment Program to support cocoa sector interventions aimed at improving yields, enhancing quality, and expanding economic opportunities for rural communities.” he said.
