International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Tuesday its subsidiary in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has started bulk coffee operations.
South Pacific International Container Terminal’s (SPICT) 2,000-square-meter coffee bulking facility is compliant with the requirements set by Coffee Industry Corp. (CIC), which regulates the coffee industry in PNG.
“After almost a year of securing the necessary permits from state regulators and consultation with coffee experts across the country, we are now ready to provide the highest level of service to PNG’s coffee industry,” SPICT CEO Robert Maxwell said.
He added that the terminal has taken its first delivery of 320 bags of green coffee beans from Monpi Coffee Exports Ltd, one of the country’s major coffee producers.
“Opening the coffee bulking facility is one of our major accomplishments for this year. Having a young and capable team, along with ICTSI’s cargo-handling expertise, we look forward to helping PNG’s coffee industry grow by helping exporters capitalize on opportunities from the increasing global demand for coffee,” said Maxwell.
Coffee production is one of PNG’s major industries, employing over three million people.
In March, ICTSI said it will spend $250 million in capital expenditures this year, a third larger than its actual spend in 2020, as it completes the expansion and the construction of its various ports globally.
Based on a statement attached to a disclosure, the company has decided to increase its capital spending program for 2021 by 30 percent to $250 million from its actual capital outlays of $198.7 million in 2020.