‘Produce More’, Philippine Coffee Farmers Told

An important figure in the Philippine coffee industry have been encouraged to focus on and increase production of speciality coffee.

The announcement was made by the chairwoman of the Philippine Coffee Board, Pacita Juan, at the 8^th National Coffee Summit which took place last week.

“With the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), we are encouraging specialty coffee to be produced,” she said.

Many farmers in the Philippines are struggling due to the low price that coffee is fetching on global markets, something which is becoming a common problem in South East Asia. As profitability vanishes, more and more are switching to other crops in order to keep the revenue floating in.

“Figures have showed no progress because coffee plantations are being converted into other crops,” Juan said.

Juan continued, stating that ideally one million new seedlings would need to be planted every year for the foreseeable future in reinvigorate the industry. It’s projected that 1,000 hectares of land per year would be required to meet this demand.

It could take six years for the industry to become self-sufficient, if this proposed plan is followed through.

During her speech, Juan also highlighted the potential for coffee growing on Mindanao, the most southerly island of the archipelagic state and made reference to the ‘Echo Tree’ program which has already helped plant 250,000 seedling.

At present, only 700kg per hectare of coffee is harvested every year.  To compare, Vietnam records levels of around 5,000kg.

Other data released by the Philippine Coffee Board indicates that the country’s yearly production comes in at 30,000 metric tons yet there could be demand for around 100,000 when all things are accounted for.

Another key point was how Philippine coffee could penetrate the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market and become a valuable asset for the country when trading with its neighbours.