The Agriculture Ministry is now working to ensure that Fiji's kava industry addresses the issue of quality and quantity as the markets slowly open up in Europe.
Deputy Director of the Agriculture Ministry, Suliasi Tawake said all these issues need to be dealt with now to ensure that Fiji realises the true potential of the kava industry.
The announcement comes as a leading local kava outlet is now getting ready to start selling kava online.
Lami Kava which has been in the kava retail business for the last 24 years said the overseas market for kava is now getting bigger with many Fijians living abroad.
Lami Kava Managing Director, Donnie Yee is hoping that he will get the necessary assistance to start off this new initiative.
Yee also said the company has come up with a unique style of packaging that will preserve the kava for months.
Fiji's kava industry is hoping that the government provides the necessary assistance to regulate the industry and try to boost kava exports.
Hopes are also high that the kava ban in some countries will be lifted.
There are some positive indications.
A few months ago a team conducted a Queensland University study on kava and it is advocating the establishment of a regional Kava Quality Control Mechanism to ensure that the quality of the kava to be exported meets the necessary standards.
Researcher Jerome Saris said they have also established that the kava pills that resulted in the overseas bans were really concentrated.
Saris said the university is now looking for support to conduct an even bigger trial to test kava's depression relieving properties against standard anti-depressant medication.
The Agriculture Ministry is expected to comment on Lami Kava's new initiative and the future of the kava industry later today.
