Local exporters in the agriculture sector can expect some good prices for their cash crops with Papua New Guinea (PNG) expecting another strong year, especially with global coffee prices hitting a 50-year high just two months ago. This is according to the Kina Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director Mr. Ivan Vidovich when sharing this positive outlook at the recent 2025 Back to Business Breakfast in Port Moresby city on Tuesday, February 4th, 2025. “While agriculture is expected to perform well, international hot spots like the Middle East and Ukraine will continue to disrupt global supply chains. These challenges highlight the fragility of global supply networks, and PNG is affected by this,” Mr. Vidovich said. He added that PNG can be protected from such external risks with sensible policies and close collaboration between the Government and the private sector. “We enter 2025 with uncertainty in the global economy and in the geopolitical landscape,” Mr. Vidovich said. “The global economy continues to navigate uncertainties, with a second Trump Presidential term, China’s slowing growth, and geopolitical hot spots potentially sparking commodity price volatility.” He added that the PNG Kina-US Dollar inter-bank rate will continue to adjust downwards through the Bank of PNG’s instituted ‘crawling peg’ regime. “In 2024, the BPNG provided intervention into the market on a regular basis which helped authorized foreign exchange dealers to clear import orders in a timely manner. We observed that through the second half of 2024, delays for import orders reduced on average from months to weeks,” said the CEO.emm He added that as a result of the continued re-adjustment of the PNG Kina, PNG’s agriculture exporters can expect another strong year. “Global Coffee prices hit a 50-year high just two months ago. 2024 was a strong year for cocoa growers in PNG. Price increases are projected to be double digits in the coming year.” Mr. Vidovich emphasized that Kina Bank is committed to working with key stakeholders to boost activity in the agriculture sector and bring these benefits to PNG. Meantime, he said gold prices are also set for another solid year trading above US$2,000 an ounce, as geopolitical tensions and uncertainty continue to keep gold prices elevated.