RP Bids To Regain Spot Among Top Coffee Exporters

After watching its neighbors become global coffee heavyweights, the Philippines is taking tentative steps toward 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-chairman 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 modernized.

“People are drinking more coffee with the change in lifestyles. People are working 24-7 in call centers 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 Daily Tribune