Export Market Guide - Papua New Guinea

All regulatory information for exporting wine goods to Papua New Guinea, including the regulatory environment, duties and taxes, and permitted additives.

Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) are both members of the British Commonwealth and share the same head of state. PNG is an active member in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and participate in APEC’s Wine Regulatory Forum along with Australia. 

Australia is PNG’s principal trading partner with Australian imports responsible for up to 35 per cent of the PNG market. Major exports include crude petroleum, civil engineering equipment, meat and wheat. 

PNG ended prohibition on alcohol in 1963 after which it quickly became a part of society. Alcohol is present at most social gatherings and is generally a part of celebrations. PNG has a fairly significant beer industry, primarily through SP Holdings, while local production of spirits and small scale beer production exists. There is reportedly a large black market for illegally brewed alcohol which is known as ‘steam’. There is a small volume of fruit wine produced in the country with wines produced from local fruits including ginger, tamarillo,
strawberry, lemon and elderberry.

The wine market is made up entirely of imported wine. The average retail price of 12 Kina is out of the reach of most local consumers. The wine market is concentrated amongst the expatriate community and a small but growing tourist industry. 

Challenges to access the market include a lack of infrastructure and distribution. The power supply is often unreliable which can cause problems in the humid conditions. Austrade’s PNG profile reports that general business practices often reflect Asian values (eg, cash transactions, personal relationships, longer negotiations and formal recognition of business arrangements), whereas western business values tend to be adopted by the larger companies. Building relationships with the right partner and in-market visits are key to
achieving success in the PNG market. 

The Chambers of Commerce in PNG are valuable sources of local business information and Austrade is able to provide a list of lawyers and accountants

There have been strong and persistent calls within the community and amongst some political leaders to return to prohibition and ban alcohol entirely which is seen as a trigger for many of the social problems facing the population. The minimum drinking age in PNG is 18 years but it is unclear how well this is policed.