What’s brewing at Davao’s Coffee Summit?

Rappler.com

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What’s brewing at Davao’s Coffee Summit?
'Coffee imports are costing our economy a lot of money which can go to the Filipino farmers instead'

MANILA, Philippines — Fancy a cup? 

The Philippine Coffee Board Inc. is organizing the 7th National Coffee Summit on October 15 at the SEDA Hotel in Davao City.

“The Philippines has good soil,” said Dr Dave D’Haeze, a Belgian national who is with EDE Consulting in Vietnam, in a media statement sent by the board. “We just need to train the farmers on farming practices.”

Below are excerpts from the coffee board’s statement:

D’Haeze said he has seen yields of 5-7 tons of coffee per hectare; the Philippines, however, only yields 700kg/hectare on the average. By simple math, we can address our import deficit by just increasing yields. And save about P7 billion a year in coffee imports.

“Our farmers need this inspiring thought from experts like Dr D’Haeze,” said Nicholas Matti, Philippine Coffee Board Inc (PCBI) Chair. “We are bringing him back to speak to farmers at the 7th National Coffee Summit in Davao City’s SEDA Hotel on Oct 15, 2014.” After the summit, Dr. D’Haeze will visit coffee and cacao farms in and around Davao.

Coffee imports are costing our economy a lot of money which can go to the Filipino farmers instead. 

Coffee consumption continues to rise year on year by 2-3%. The PCBI has been celebrating and promoting local coffee for more than 12 years now. Though numbers in Luzon are diminishing especially in former coffee centers like Batangas and Cavite, Mindanao shows more promise.

Mindanao’s Mt. Apo coffee recently won awards in Thailand in a Roasters Choice event. “I knew we had a winner,” Matti said. “We graded the coffee by asking another expert to cup it before we sent our samples to Thailand.” 

This expert is Kat Mulingtapang, a US–based Filipina Q grader, who will also grace the summit. She will be holding cupping sessions in Manila and Davao. “Kat gave our coffee a high score,” PCBI and IWCA President Chit Juan shared. “Now , we are looking for more winners in Mindanao.” 

Specialty grades command a premium price in the global specialty coffee market of up to 30% over commodity prices. “So, with two experts, our coffee industry sees hope,” Juan added. “One to increase yield for instant coffee and other Robusts requriements and one to grade coffees for specialty Arabica exports.”

The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) coffee cluster and DTI-CITEM have been helping in this regard by including coffee as a major specialty export through the Development in Export Program, taking such specialty coffees to international shows. — Rappler.com

The Philippine Coffee Board Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Philippine coffee. For more information, contact www.philcoffeeboard.com or text 09088831218.

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