GBR AGRO SPICES

P O Box 565, Madang 511

Madang Province
Papua New Guinea

Ph/Fx: + (675) 852 9873

Mobile: + (675) 71126690/76789715

Email: maimax@hotmail.com
mmaima@student.dwu.ac.pg

_______________________________________________________________________________________
“Buyers & Exporters of general agricultural spices”

The Company Profile

For
GBR AGRO SPICES

“Quality Satisfaction is our Priority”

Introduction:

GBR Agro Spices was formerly known as Wamobak Vanilla Growers &
Exporters and gone into the business of buying and exporting cured
organic vanilla beans from the soils of Papua New Guinea. Wamobak
previously working closely with subsistent farmers both in Maprik and
Madang of Papua New Guinea who are cultivating organic vanilla beans
in their hundreds to export them overseas. Its operation gradually
declines in 2005 due to the fact that its demand in the World Market
declines and part of its shares was privatized through which GBR Agro
Spices has acquired its being by one of its Managing Partners; Max
Maima.

Mission Statement

The Company endures to serve with distinct commitment and

determination to provide to clients and prospectus the services they
deserve. Our core mission is to produce high quality agricultural spice
products to meaningfully satisfy our customers.

Vision:

We strive to produce high quality organic agricultural spices from

Papua New Guinea to meet our Customers demand as we grow to be
meaningful contributor of the World’s Spices suppliers.

Our Expertise:

We recognize that the competitiveness of GBR Agro Spices lies

primarily in its expertise.

Our experiences in buying an exporting cured organic vanilla beans to

our clients as far as Europe, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia and France
has given us enough capabilities to enhance and meet our clients
quality and quantity requirements.

This expertise allows us to deliver on objectives and assurances to our

clients, prospectus and potential customers through high quality
agricultural spice products supply.

Product Descriptive Chronology

Planting, Pruning & Pollination Process

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The vanilla plant is a commercial cash crop categorized under the
spices food group. The planting process to the stage of pruning of
support trees and continued to the pollination process, no
contamination matters such as fertilizers or insecticides to control nor
give additional nutrition to the plant to produce good quality. We add
decaying deposits from the plants and other living environment which
produce good and healthy nutrition as natural fertilizers to give best
and high nutrition to the vanilla plant through its stems and roots
where it diffuses high grade nutrition to produce high quality organic
vanilla beans from the natural soils of Papua New Guinea.

We have two types of vanilla beans grown in Papua New Guinea; the
Planifolia type vanilla (Big beans) and the Tahithensis type vanilla
(small beans).

Harvesting

Harvesting is done when the vanilla bean reaches its maturity stages
and ripe; we collect only the matured beans when tips turning yellow
and we saw that the growth phase is completed. Beans are harvested
by sideways pressure of the thumb at the base or by cutting with a
sharp knife. In order to harvest high quality vanilla, harvests are done
bean by bean and not as whole bunch.

Sorting out Vanilla Beans

The first thing to do after the harvesting is to sort beans according to

their quality and size; - large, medium, small and split etc… for the
treatment will be quicker or slower depending on size.

Hot Water Dipping

Dipping of the beans in hot water is done immediately after harvesting

to avoid beans to split if delay.

A 44 gallon drum or similar size pots are used to heat water to a

required temperature of 60 -63 degree Celsius. A batch of beans is
loaded into an openwork cylindrical basket and dipped into this hot
(not boiling) water for 2.5 to 3.5 minutes and maintains the
temperature until all beans are dipped. This is where it triggers the
development of flavor.

Fermentation

After the beans have been removed from hot water, they are drained
and the hot beans are poured into sweating box to start fermentation

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and sweating. Usually wooden boxes lined with blankets. Beans are
covered with blankets to maintain temperature for at least 24 to 48
hours. The enzymatic reactions in the box cause the heat and humidity
to contribute to a metabolic process that develops vanilla typical
aroma. When removed from the sweating boxes the beans turns from
green to dark chocolate brown color, a sign that beans have been
killed.

Curing Process

Sweated vanilla is than subjected to a series of drying processes. The

aim of this is to remove most of the water content of the beans while
fermentation is changing glucose – vanillin into vanillin. It is a critical
phase of curing because beans must be kept hot by being exposed to
the sun during the day and allowed to sweat in an insulated box at
night.

Normally for the first 3 – 5 days we keep them sun dry from 8am to
3pm. After the third day, we keep it on the sun for only 2 -3 hours
depending on the heat produces by the sun. We understand that if we
leave it on the sun whole day after the fifth day, our vanilla beans
might gets over dried and would produce low quality meaning that its
aroma fragrance might fade away.

After sun drying them for the specific timings, we covered them with
thick black blackest to restore the heat energy absorb from the daily
sun so that those heat can warm up the vanilla beans when they are
put into boxes. We repeat the same process until we see that some
liquids released out from the beans; that gives us an indication that it’s
approaching the stage of final concentration on quality.

We get out each beans and hold pressed to release some liquids or
moisture content contain in the beans out to make it cured nicely.
Again, while doing all these process, we did not use any chemical
adaptive or pesticides to make our products more organic but by its
natural process, we grow organic, process organic and export for our
customers organic vanilla beans grown and produced from the soils of
Papua New Guinea.

Grading

Our Grading standards is based on the bean length, aroma, color,

flexibility, vanillin content, moisture content, texture and freedom from
blemishes, insects infection and mildew. Table 1 shows the relationship
between processing and grading of GBR Agro Spices.

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 TABLE 1. A summary of steps involved in vanilla processing

Information A Grade B Grade

Ripe Overripe Poor Immatur
Beans (Split) Beans e Beans
Beans
Dipping time at 60 3.5 2.5 minutes 2.5 3.5
-63’C minutes minutes minutes
Sweating in boxes 48 hours 48 hours 48 hours 48 hours
Drying in the sun 12 -15 10 days 10days 15 – 20
days days
Drying on trays 30 -45 20 –30 days 20 -30 45 -60
days days days
Maturing in boxes 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months
Ratio green beans to 4.5 -5 4.5 -5 5.5 6 -7
cured beans
Water content of 75 -80% 75 -78% 78 -80% 82 85%
fresh beans
Water content of 25 -30% 25 -30% 20 -25% 20 -25%
cured beans
(average required)
Vanillin content of 2.2% 2.2 -2.4 1.6 -1.8% 1.8%
cured beans

Conditioning

The bundles are placed into airtight boxes or ice block eskies to
undergo the process of conditioning. The beans can remain in the
boxes for 5 to 6 months periods with exposure to air for several hours
each month. Vanilla aroma develops during conditioning.

Packing Process

Finally, when the vanilla beans are conditioned they are sorted into
bundles of equivalent sizes and quality. The bundles are then packed
into 1kgs per pack sealed in a vacuum plastic according to the grading
of the vanilla beans (both planifolias and tahithensis).

The 1kgs sealed plastic packs are then repacked into jumbo boxes
lined with wax paper, holding about 20 to 25kgs per box. The packed
materials are stored for up to one year while awaiting marketing or
export.

“Quality Satisfaction is our Priority”

We also pack upon buyers demand and requirements.

Product Cleanliness

The quality of the product is our far most concern as it motto our
engine in enduring the business of producing and exporting organic
vanilla beans from the soils of Papua New Guinea. We handle our
product with care and concern internally to maintain our product
wellbeing up to the time when we proven our products as organic by
external authorities such as NAQIA – PNG (National Agriculture &
Quarantine Inspection Authority of Papua New Guinea before the
export.

We are 100% sure and give assurance to our customers that we do not
use any neither external nor foreign matters as quality adaptive to our
products but guarantee that we produce them organically from the
natural soils as we prioritizes our customers satisfaction in quality
products.

Product Inspection

As highlighted, the last stage of Inspection of the product quality

before leaving to compete for the world market, it goes through the
external party which is NAQIA – PNG. A body recognized in doing
inspection and quality control to ensure any products leaving the
country should meet the world market standard and should not below
quality product. That’s the final stage and when these stages have
been passed, we have passed the requirement and are eligible to get
our products to our customer.

Export/Shipment Process

Most of our shipments are done through DHL Express courier where we
track our shipments till it reaches our customer.

Documents to accompany shipments include;

• Commercial Invoice
• Certificate of Origin
• Customs Clearance
• Export Permits/License

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 • Certificate of Inspection from National Quarantine & Inspection
Authority (NAQIA- PNG)
• Packing List
• Airway Bill Number

Products Specifications;

Hundred percent organically grown and sun cured vanilla beans

(Planifollia and Tahitian) from the soils of Papua New Guinea.

1. Vanilla Species: Planifollia and Tahitian

2. Organically grown in pristine atmosphere

3. Sun cured with strong commitment to quality, low moisture storage

with vanillin natural aroma. Vanillin content ranges from 1.6 to 2.4%,
Moisture content ranges from 20 - 30 %.

4. Product appearance: shiny black to dark brown

5. Strictly graded (A, B,) depending on size and physical form of beans.
Grade A is 16 cm and above in length

6. Packaged in 1kg & 25 kg waxed packaging boxes for shipment.

Vacuum packaging to be introduced soon.

7. Shipment through DHL and TNT depending on buyer preference.

Time of delivery is dependent on location but usually not more than 5
working days on DHL/TNT

8. Quantity Supply per month: 100 to 500Kgs per month

9. Payment terms and conditions; Negotiable with buyer.

10. Quality Assurance: Double Check by NAQIA (PNG)

NB: We also deal with other agricultural spices like; silly, cardamom,
ginger, turmeric and more but we currently focuses on vanilla beans.

Contact Details:

Contact Person; Max Maima

Address: GBR AGRO SPICES
P O Box 565, Modilon Road,
Madang 511
Madang Province

“Quality Satisfaction is our Priority”

 Papua New Guinea
Ph/Fx: + 675 852 9873
Mobile: + 675 71126690
Email: maimax@hotmail.com or
mmaima@student.dwu.ac.pg

“Quality Satisfaction is our Priority”