We need the PCBI to help us reach out to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), so the vendors do not squeeze us further in pricing," said Asuncion.
PCBI founding trustee Guillermo Luz noted that while domestic coffee production has improved, it still lagged far behind demand.
Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Michael Asuncion of Kickstart Coffee, which supplies coffee to 150 supermarkets nationwide, has sought the help of PCBI in reaching out to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) "so the vendors do not squeeze us further in pricing.
According to PCBI,Robusta and Arabica prices are rising but roasted coffee has been kept low due to pressure from supermarkets and groceries.
A score of 80 or higher on the CQI scale is what farmers need to achieve for their coffee to be called specialty, and the PCBI hopes to educate them-as well as other coffee entrepreneurs-on this at the upcoming 10th National Coffee Summit, which will be held on Oct.
According to the PCBI, the Philippines' coffee production has risen to 35,000 metric tons a year from its lowest in 2002 at 22,000 metric tons.
Aside from offering coffee education courses,
PCBI, together with the Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDIVOCA), will assist CQI in certifying 'cupping laboratories', which will be strategically placed across the country so farmers who want to have their coffee scored can easily reach them.
With a five-year, P5-million grant from Commission on Higher Education and in partnership with the
PCBI for technical and marketing assistance for participant-farmers, the Cavite State University has started a research-cum-livelihood assistance program for coffee farmers in the southern part of Luzon, where robusta thrives.
We import 70,000 worth of coffee as consumption has risen to over 100,000 metric tons (MT) while production remained low at 25,000 MT,
PCBI said.
We have trained farmers in Benguet and all the way down to Sulu, says Nicholas Matti,
PCBI chair.
The
PCBI has thus urged farmers and entrepreneurs-especially those based in Cavite-to produce higher-value gourmet or specialty robusta, to make up for the decreasing volume.
Coffee evangelists at
PCBI have been making the rounds of farms and cooperatives to shore up growers' interest and hopes, not without the good news of available knowhow and contacts for possible funding through the Philippine Equity Foundation (PEF).
