Cultivating and selling kava is an important source of income for many rural farmers and their families. It is also an important value-adding commodity since other than the usual powder form, it comes in other forms including capsules. The economic importance of kava to many Pacific Island countries and territories is significant. It contributes to the gross domestic product and to the balance of payments and foreign exchange earnings. There are believed to be many opportunities for expanding kava production in the region, but as has been demonstrated in this paper, there is a lack of reliable and comprehensive data on production, domestic consumption and exports. Without such data it is difficult to build a strong investment case for either private sector or government intervention.