Buai

Cops in buai raid jailed

“Robbing villagers of their betel nuts and mustards under the pretext of enforcing the National Capital District Betelnut Control Law 2013 is a grave offense.

“The offenders misapplied a law to suit themselves. It has now back fired,” he said when sentencing two NCD Based police officers to 8 years in jail.

George Ikalom and Timothy Rorepa were sentenced after they were convicted over the armed robbery of 52 betel nut bags and six bundles of mustard from four people from the Kairaku area on 21 March 2015.

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Aggressive buai trader issue being tackled

The highway will no longer allow frequent passage of buses and truck loads of buyers into the area to intercept local sellers who travel into the city to sell buai.

Central police commander Laimo Asi says in the past four years, since the setup of the Agevairua buai market, the community has been plagued by outsiders coming in and bring in a hosts of issues.

“Women and children have been living in fear to go about their daily routine as the outsiders have been abusive as well as intimidating them in their own villages,” Asi says.

Boat missing with four

Police in Manus say the boat left Manus for Wewak nine days ago but has not arrived at the destination.

Acting Provincial Police Commander Senior Inspector David Yapu is appealing to boat operators traveling between the waters of Manus, Wewak and Madang to keep an eye out on the boat and report to police of its whereabouts.

He said the buai trade has become a big concern as a number of boats have gone missing.

The national disaster and emergency services with NMSA have been alerted to assist with the whereabouts of the missing boat and four people.

Don’t be fooled by high buai prices!

Loop PNG took to some main buai (betelnut) markets to check prices out and noted that buai has had a massive price drop!

A few months ago, a group of 5 to 6 buai was going for K10 and K20 but now, it has gone down to K2 and K5 at the main markets.

Some sellers at the main market said the green nuts are already here, meaning the green gold season has returned in the provinces! This also includes mustard (daka).

Strange coloured ‘kavivi’ hitting Madang betelnut markets

These nuts come in bright red or yellow colours and are doing a good job of supplementing the shortfall in the betelnut supply in the province.

Many betelnut chewers have remarked that unlike the smaller and sticky kavivi, these red and yellow nuts have a slightly bigger chewable seed, exactly like real betelnut. 

The seed inside the skin also tastes better and lasts longer in the mouth.

Betelnut trade booming on Bougainville

There is now a severe betelnut shortage in Morobe Province and in the Highlands and also here on Buka Island, and mothers are now depending on betelnut from Mainland Bougainville.

The betelnut being sold in Buka market and shipped to Lae are from the west coast areas of Kunua and Keriaka, big round nuts.

A boat owner who hails from the west coast area of Keriaka, Patrick Miaro told Loop PNG that his boat is now on hire every week by betelnut sellers.