Shipping from Vanuatu is very expensive - more so than Fiji or Tonga, so it all adds up (no income tax in Vanuatu, so there is high VAT & duties to compensate).
1kg of 5 star straight from the Santo factory was 6250vt ($56) last year, so by the time it is shipped, passed through a couple of pairs of hands, been repackaged, and supported someone's business, US retail is probably about right.
I still remember buying a 50kg sack of fresh green borongoru in Vila for $1/kg so as a commodity it is doing pretty well!
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