The CIC Board responded to Coffee growers concerned in declaring five [5] Highlands Provinces of PNG a restricted region in trading of cherry coffee. The policy was immediately taken on by the management and a Cherry Trade working Committee was appointed to drive the implement process. The policy existence was primarily to deal with the problem of cherry theft which has contributed to loss of profitability and abandoning of coffee gardens and plantations. However, precisely there was no study conducted to concretely conclude the hypothesis. Since then, The Cherry Trade Policy was published in National Gazette effective 1st January 2008.

Since the inception of Cherry Trade Policy (CTP) in 2008, IR&C continuously implemented the policy in the form of; Awareness, Surveillances, and Prosecution. The policy has been introduced to three (3) provinces out of the five (5) gazetted provinces. After three years of implementation, the outcomes are as such;

Mode of Approaches taken to effect and enforce the policy since 2008;

1. Awareness/campaign on the concept
2. Surveillances
3. Prosecution

Achievement

1. EHP & Simbu, growers mobilized into forming cooperatives to access better markets. Cherry trade declined, and parchment quality improved
2. 70% of Cherry Traders in Jiwaka obtained contractual agreement from registered wet factories to trade cherry
3. 95% of Cherry Traders mostly in EHP and Jiwaka used metallic CIC plate to transport cherry to registered wet processors
4. Trained CIC Reservist to empower and enforce the policy.
5. Developed wording of charges to implicate violators of the policy.
6. Prosecuted violaters of the policy.

Since the practice of cherry trade become a cultural efficient household income, the policy strategises a regulative approach. The approaches are;

1. Ban all roadside cherry buyers except in remote areas which are not served by registered wet factories.
2. Private buyers must have contractual arrangement with registered wet factories to buy cherries on behalf of the registered wet factories or also can be approved by the respective communities.
3. Registered wet factories, contractual/private buyers must register their grower suppliers names along with crop details and buy only from them.
4. Transporting of cherry coffee on any carriage must display crafted metallic plates issued by CIC through the wet factories.
5. All cash payment done at the registered wet factories through formal receipts at the point of cherry collection.
6. Buyers who do not comply to above [1-5] will be dealt with accordingly as conferred to CIC Act.

Currently the regulative approaches are positive and it is predicted that after five years with continuous funding, the policy will have reached and be embraced by at least 75% – 85% coffee growing citizens.