A study into the kava industry has found that there was no basis for the market recalls or restriction on kava by health agencies in Europe in 2001, a move that soon crippled Pacific Island kava exports to Europe and other major overseas markets.
The kava study by Dr Joerg Gruenwald titled "In-Depth Investigation into EU Market Restrictions on Kava Products" was commissioned by the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE), a facility of the European Union based in Brussels, at the request of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in July 2002.
Restrictions on kava were imposed by health agencies overseas after reports that some consumers suffered negative reactions, including a number of fatal cases that were blamed on processed kava by-products.
Kava exports from countries such as Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu collapsed, costing the countries millions of dollars in export revenue. The exporters have since tried to make a distinction between the use of kava in its natural form (as practised in the Pacific Islands) and the synthesised compounds and kava by-products offered by the pharmaceutical industry.
"Pacific Island communities have safely used kava for hundreds of years in its natural form," said the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Mr W. Noel Levi, CBE.
"The study reinforces our faith in kava as a social and ceremonial drink that is a major economic item in our region," he said.
The study has suggested that a Kava Committee be established to try and regain the market authorisation for kava products, which have been processed by pharmaceutical companies into a range of prescription drugs and herbal remedies.
The proposed Kava Committee would comprise key stakeholders in the Pacific Islands and Europe who would try to restore the image of kava in overseas markets. A meeting of stakeholders is being planned for mid July with the assistance of ProInvest - an arm of CDE based in Brussels that promotes investment and technology flows to private enterprises in the ACP States.
The meeting will draw up strategies and timelines to address the negative publicity that has affected the exports of kava.
This will complement the work started by the Pacific Health Research Council (PHRC), based at the Fiji School of Medicine, which is engaged in the scientific analysis of kava.
