Philippines to revive coffee industry

AFTER watching its neighbours become global coffee heavyweights, the Philippines is taking tentative steps towards regaining its status as a formidable grower of the bean. However, that era is a long way back for the Philippines, among the top five coffee exporters in the world in the 1880s after Spanish friars brought beans with them to their colonial outpost.

The Philippine Coffee Board, an industry group spearheading the revival attempt, knows the country can not compete with the likes of current regional exporting giants Indonesia and Vietnam in volume. So they are aiming for niche markets and targeting the fast-growing number of young Filipinos who crowd cafes across the country of 93 million people. ‘We have a lot of exotic coffees and that is the way to present our products,’ said Josefina Reyes, director of the board.

Coffee board co-chairwoman Pacita Juan said the Philippines had long had a thriving coffee-drinking culture with a populace that favoured coffee over tea, and this was becoming stronger as society modernised. ‘People are drinking more coffee with the change in lifestyles. People are working 24-7 in call centres so there is more opportunity to drink coffee. Even hotels are serving better coffee instead of just instant coffee,’ she told AFP.

The Coffee Board is promoting ‘Kape Isla’, which loosely translates to ‘Island Coffee’ and is a trademark to distinguish specialty coffees grown in the Philippines. It is also helping entrepreneurs set up small coffee shops across the country where they can offer their own regional blends. In this way, they can compete with the global giants such as Starbucks, whose local outlets sell specialty coffees generally only from Africa and South America.

The gourmet coffee products that the Philippines are starting to offer include special ‘premium arabica’ blends and the strong ‘barako’ bean that is favoured by Filipinos, Ms Juan said. Special varieties found only in isolated areas are also being developed, as is production of ‘civet coffee’ – made from beans eaten and excreted by civet cats.

The country had enjoyed a coffee growing boom in the 1980s when it benefited from special export quotas and prices set under the International Coffee Agreement. ‘Back then, a lot of people in coffee got rich. Everyone (in the industry) was buying refrigerators and television sets,’ recalled wholesale coffee buyer Antonio Mawak, based south of Manila.

Source : Straitstimes