A government minister in Kiribati is worried that the amount of kava being imported and consumed is threatening the country’s development and peoples’ way of life.
The concern was sparked by a Vanuatu Daily Post newspaper report saying Kiribati was the number one export destination for Vanuatu-grown kava.
Last year, Kiribati imported 280 tonnes of kava from Vanuatu, enough to make two-point-four million litres of the mildly intoxicating beverage, the paper said.
Ruth Cross Kwansing, the minister for women, youth and sports said it amounts to around $28 million (US$17 million) spent on kava from Vanuatu alone, not including those from Fiji or Solomon Islands.
Kwansing said the impact of high kava consumption is being felt at homes.
“If fathers aren’t home with their children and their wives, then obviously they’re not looking after their families and their children.”
“If they’re spending all the money on kava, then, you know, where’s the funds that the family needs for food and basic essentials?”
She said men were exhausted from late night kava drinking and not able to cut toddy or go out fishing and were not productive at home.