Kava and customs

[JohnPal716]

hello all!
Hope you are coping with the chill (those of you who must) with numb mouths.
I looked around for the answer to my question but could not find it...
A friend is now in Fiji, and he agreed to bring me some kava back from his trip. Is there any reason why he should be concerned about bringing it home through customs? He says that he found some that is packaged appropriately but asked me about it... and I hoped to get an answer or a suggestion.. surprisingly I have no answers as of yet.

Thanks a bunch!

JP from Buffalo NY

 

[Groggy]

hello all!
Hope you are coping with the chill (those of you who must) with numb mouths.
I looked around for the answer to my question but could not find it...
A friend is now in Fiji, and he agreed to bring me some kava back from his trip. Is there any reason why he should be concerned about bringing it home through customs? He says that he found some that is packaged appropriately but asked me about it... and I hoped to get an answer or a suggestion.. surprisingly I have no answers as of yet.

Thanks a bunch!

JP from Buffalo NY

Hi JP, we can ask @kasa_balavu since he's from Fiji.

 

[AKWAKA]

Aloha from Alaska,
Not sure about Fiji, just went to Australia. The AU government website says you can bring 2 kilos as baggage for personal use. Tried to find it in AU but supplements in the form of pills was all they had, no medium grind root available. I claimed it on the form and they did not blink. They did take my hunter sticks cause the beef was mixed with pork. The guy said pork was no good, I offered him to try one cause they are fantastic!
Anyway, coming back to the states was not an issue, its legal in all 50. I had some left on my return, not an issue at all. Don't know what the quantity restriction might be. Fiji grows a hell of a lot of root so i would think they are fairly liberal with it. Google search each country with the word kava. Takes you right to where you need to be.

 

[kasa_balavu]

If as he says the kava is appropriately packaged (in properly labelled and sealed foil or plastic packaging rather than a brown paper bag) he should have no troubled whatsoever either here in Fiji or in the US. If he's spent a considerable sum of money and wants to be extra cautious, he can stop by the Biosecurity Fiji office (in the airport grounds but not in the same building as the departure terminal) and pay for a magic sticker. This magic sticker may cost around USD$20 and basically says that Biosecurity Fiji have cleared the package for export.