DTI, Nestle put up more coffee buying stations

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Nestlé Philippines are putting up more coffee satellite buying stations in the country to purchase directly from local farmers nationwide.

Myrna Pablo, DTI’s regional director for  the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and national industry cluster manager for coffee, said in a statement yesterday they would set up more coffee buying stations in the country.

Pablo said the DTI is initially plans to put up two buying stations in CAR.

For her part, Nestlé Philippines vice president for corporate affairs Ruth Novales said the company also intends to set up more satellite buying stations for coffee in the country. Nestle is currently developing a station in Quirino province.

This would add to the existing nine satellite coffee buying stations of the firm located in the following areas: Silang in Cavite, Lipa City in Batangas, Tuguegarao City in Cagayan Valley, Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, Tagbina in Surigao del Sur, Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental, Tagum City in Davao del Norte, General Santos City in South Cotabato, and Iloilo City in Iloilo.

Novales noted that Nestlé Philippines sets up satellite buying stations in communities that are able to produce 350 to 400 metric tons of coffee per year.

Pablo noted that bulk of the raw material of Nestlé Philippines is Robusta coffee.

Only 20 percent of the raw material requirements of the company however, is produced locally and so it still  has to import from other countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia.

“In the Philippines, Robusta coffee is most in demand due to instant coffee requirements, and can be planted in various parts of the archipelago,” Novales said.

The major instant coffee players buy more than 90 percent of local Robusta coffee.

“The sooner we minimize the country’s importation of coffee, the better,” Novales said, adding that the company’s short-term objective is to help farmers get income through better and higher yield.

Pablo said the DTI wants to work with other government agencies on supporting and fortifying the coffee industry.

“We want to work closer with the Department of Agriculture (DA) because they are more into (coffee) production to complete the (value) chain,” she said.