PORT MORESBY, 13 August 2026 – Papua New Guinea today
inaugurated upgraded cocoa processing and chocolate-making
capacity at the Queen Emma Chocolate factory in Port
Moresby, expanding the country’s ability to turn its own
cocoa beans into higher-value ingredients and finished
chocolate. The facility is operated by Paradise Foods
Limited. The new equipment was provided through the
EU-STREIT PNG Programme, funded by the European Union and
implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO).
The upgraded facility includes
twelve types of new machinery, an equipment investment of
USD 2.8 million provided through the Programme. The company
expects the upgrade to double output and to allow
consistent, higher-grade production of cocoa ingredients and
chocolate to the standards that specialty buyers
demand.
More of the country’s cocoa can now be
processed into finished and semi-processed products before
it leaves Papua New Guinea.
“This is our own company,
complementing the Government’s desire for 100 per cent
downstream processing in-country. And through this approach,
we are making three times more than what we make when we
export the raw product,” said the Honourable James Marape,
MP, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. “I want to thank the
management and the entire team, as well as our very
important partners: the United Nations Resident
Coordinator’s Office, the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations, and the European
Union.”
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Quality now pays at farm level
A
domestic processor that pays for quality gives producers a
reason to invest in better fermentation and drying, and
reduces the losses that come with rejected
consignments.
Under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme, cocoa
farming groups in the Sepik have been linked directly to the
factory, which sources well-fermented, smoke-free beans
through those relationships. Producer groups supported under
the Programme have begun supplying quality dried cocoa beans
to Queen Emma, with deliveries so far reported in the tens
of tonnes.
“Quality only becomes sustainable when the
market pays for it,” said Dr Kachen Wongsathapornchai, Head
of the FAO Country Office in Papua New Guinea. “Under
EU-STREIT PNG, FAO worked across the whole chain, from
planting material and post-harvest handling in the Sepik to
the processing capacity inaugurated here today, so that
better beans meet a buyer who rewards them. Development
projects have an end date. Relationships do not, and that is
what will keep this factory and the farmers who supply it
working together long after the Programme
closes.”
Building the supply base
The factory
upgrade sits alongside work at farm level across East and
West Sepik. Under the Programme, 3.4 million pest-tolerant
cocoa seedlings have been planted and 4,960 hectares of
cocoa blocks rehabilitated, with a grafting survival rate of
95 percent. Some 19,400 cocoa farmers have been trained and
upskilled in bud grafting, integrated pest and disease
management, block management, climate-smart agriculture, and
post-harvest handling.
Post-harvest work has focused
on the quality problems that once kept Papua New Guinea
cocoa out of premium markets. The Programme has upgraded 500
cocoa dryers, introduced 100 solar combination dryers that
cut reliance on fuelwood, and is establishing 120 cocoa
storage facilities. It has also supported the formalisation
and development of 363 cocoa agribusinesses.
Chairman
of Paradise Foods Limited, Anthony Smare, underscored: “We
believe in PNG’s future. We were not told to invest in our
country, we chose it. Our investment shows in our results.
Paradise Foods is not only PNG-owned but PNG-made and
supported. Last month, Paradise Foods recorded its highest
month of sales in 93 years.”
Opening overseas market
doors
With Programme support, the company has taken
Papua New Guinea cocoa and chocolate to trade events in
Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, building connections
with specialty chocolate makers and niche ingredient
buyers.
Private-sector engagement is central to how
the Programme approaches sustainability. Linking farmer
support with commercial demand, processing capacity and
business expertise builds market incentives that can
continue after development assistance ends.
Speaking
at the inauguration, the Ambassador of the European Union to
Papua New Guinea, Her Excellency Erica Hasznos, said: “Under
the Global Gateway strategy, the European Union is investing
across Papua New Guinea’s cocoa value chain, from quality
production in the Sepik to modern processing here in Port
Moresby. By raising quality and consistency, EU-PNG
cooperation brings more value for Papua New Guinean business
and small farmers, and more opportunities to access premium
European markets. This is what Global Gateway stands for:
sustainable investment, stronger industry and trade, and
deeper ties between Papua New Guinea and the European
Union.”
National and global goals
The investment
supports Papua New Guinea’s Medium Term Development Plan
IV priorities for downstream processing, commercial
agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprise development,
and strategic partnership with the private sector. It also
contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals on poverty
reduction, decent work and economic growth, industry,
innovation and infrastructure, and climate
action.
About the EU-STREIT PNG Programme
The
Programme for Support to Rural Entrepreneurship, Investment
and Trade in Papua New Guinea (EU-STREIT PNG) is the
European Union’s largest grant-funded initiative under the
EU Global Gateway Strategy in Papua New Guinea. It is
implemented as a United Nations joint programme led by FAO
in partnership with ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP. The Programme
works to boost sustainable, inclusive rural development by
enhancing returns and opportunities in the cocoa, vanilla
and fisheries value chains, and by strengthening key
enablers: digital connectivity, digital financial services,
climate-resilient transport infrastructure, and renewable
energy solutions. It directly benefits the East and West
Sepik provinces.
As of June 2026, the Programme has
reached 513,000 individuals, benefited 85,400 families,
supported 700 farmer groups and trained 34,000 farmers
across 42 local-level government areas in East and West
Sepik.
Queen Emma Chocolate is produced by Paradise
Foods Limited, Papua New Guinea’s leading domestic cocoa
processor and chocolate
maker.
