CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) is now working on strengthening the coffee farming industry in the country by teaching farmers to establish their own coffee businesses.
PCBI vice-chairman Pacita U. Juan said Philippine coffee farmers have the potential to produce the “best coffee in the world” or easily grow organic coffee, if given the right support, education and technology.
In an interview with Juan, she said that PCB is now raising funds of at least P90 million in order to set up 32 coffee mills around the country, so that Coffee produce from farmers will be processed properly and can be consumed by local demand.
With the increasing number of coffee shops in the Philippines, coffee farmers have great potential to earn, or they themselves can start up their businesses, in taking advantage of the trend.
What remains a concern now is that coffee farmers in the country, who are only considered as “backyard farmers”, only a few have seen the potential of growing coffee to meet even the local demand of 65,000 metric tons a year.
Despite the fertile soil in some areas in the Philippines to grow good coffee, Juan said the local coffee farmers are only providing 10 percent of the 65,000 metric tons demand a year.
Significantly, with the trend of going organic, Juan said coffee farmers have the edge in this area, since most of them are growing their coffee in the backyard farm—organically.
“Most of our coffees are organic by default,” Juan said. In other countries, organic coffee beans are sold expensively.
Because of the lack of supply, the Philippines is importing at least 30 thousand metric tons of Coffee bean from different parts of the world.
According to Juan, India and Vietnam, their coffee farming industry is a P3 billion industry, because farmers have seen the commercial potential of coffee farming.
In the Philippines, most coffee farms are regarded as of less commercial value. A typical farm of one-hectare can have a total of 700 trees, but this can also be planted with other tropical fruits such as papaya, among others.
Best Coffee bean can be found in Volcanic-soil. However, most areas in the Philippines can grow good coffee.
The Philippines used to be the fourth largest producer of coffee in the 1800s. From 1886 to 1888, the country was the world’s sole supplier of coffee.
Today, Juan said “we are net importer of coffee. We consume over 60 thousand metric tons of coffee but we only produce 30 thousand tons.”
She said coffee is a product that has an increasing demand year upon year. “This is the proof that a coffee business has a big chance of survival and success in this country.”
The problem of production in the Philippines, she said is being addressed by the PCBI, or the National Coffee Development Board (NCDB) and other private organizations that encourage planting of more land to coffee.