Germany's 12 year ban on kava has been overturned, after Germany's Federal Administrative Court found the ban to be unlawful and inappropriate.
Photo: RNZ
However, kava growers are being warned that the trade is still at risk because of serious problems with the quality of kava being traded.
The chair of the International Kava Executive Council, Tagaloa Eddie Wilson, says the council has been working with pacific farmers and governments to introduce kava production standards.
The next step now is to actually put in place a set of quality assurances, processes, so that whoever exports kava will have to comply by very strict quality standards.
Tagaloa Eddie Wilson says the aim is that only scientifically approved varities of kava will be exported.