Philippines

The government has announced plans to boost coffee production in the Philippines by at least 5% by 2012.
Part of the plan by the Philippine Department of Agriculture that aims to encourage farmers to grow more coffee involves setting up various post-harvest facilities in different regions of the country in order to help farmers generate additional income.
Nestlé Philippines senior vice president and head of corporate affairs Edith de Leon says the annual local demand for coffee beans currently stands at 64,000 metric tons value at around P5 billion with some 30,000 metric tons – less than 50% – supplied locally and the rest imported from Indonesia and Vietnam.
Nestlé Philippines is the nation’s biggest buyer of green coffee: the company purchases 80% of the total coffee produced in the country.
Another problem faced by the industry is land originally pegged for coffee production being sold off by the farmers to property developers as a way to make quick and easy money.
Coffee production in the Philippines fell by 7.4% in the first 9 months of the year compared to the same period last year mainly because of land conversion. Mindanao’s coffee-growing areas experienced the bulk of the decrease. The government has been making efforts to prevent conversion of areas devoted for agricultural crops for commercial use.
According to the data published by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, the country produced 94,536 metric tons on 121,399 hectares in 2010, a 2.31% drop from the 2009 volume.
The Department of Agriculture intends to allocate P163 million to address the decline in the country’s coffee production. Most of the money will be spent on farm tools and new nurseries. At least P50 million will be appropriated for postharvest facilities.
Nestlé Philippines Inc. will further train farmers on the technology of coffee production.