*Reflections on the inaugural Kava Standards Week hosted by Standards Australia, April 2026*
Pacific kava has taken a defining step forward. Standards Australia recently hosted the inaugural Kava Standards Week in Sydney, gathering 20 technical experts from nine Pacific Island nations — Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Niue, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands — alongside colleagues from Australia and New Zealand to shape a coordinated regional framework for kava quality and safety.
Delivered in partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and supported by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the week marked the first sitting of the Pacific Islands Standards Committee TC3 Kava Standards.
For our farmers, this work matters deeply. Analysts project the global kava market to grow from A$2.1 billion in 2023 to A$7.3 billion by 2032 — a rising tide our Pacific growers must be positioned to share in. A well-designed regional standard will help ensure that consistency, verifiable quality, and provenance travel with every shipment leaving our shores.
For the farmer tending Yaqona on a hillside plot in Vanua Levu, or a family harvesting kava in the highlands of Vanuatu, the benefits are practical. Clearer rules translate into smoother access to export markets, stronger prices anchored to trusted quality, and greater confidence from international buyers. Groundwork is also being laid for a future Geographical Indication, which will protect Pacific kava's identity so the value of our heritage crop remains with the communities who cultivate it.
Importantly, the regional standard is designed to complement — not replace — existing national standards and the Codex framework. Grounded in the Pacific tradition of Talanoa, or open and inclusive dialogue, this initiative places culture, community and economic opportunity at the heart of standards development.
For the farmers who have carried this tradition for generations, Sydney was a promising step forward.