Duterte urged to okay creation of coffee council

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu-based Bo’s Coffee, through its founder Steve Benitez, has vowed to be at the forefront of developing the coffee production in the Philippines once the government approves the creation of Philippine Coffee Council (PCC).

Benitez hopes that President Rodrigo Duterte will sign the executive order so that the industry will be able to draft policies and programs that will aid farmers in advancing their coffee farmers.

The idea of organizing a national council for the coffee industry began during the Philippine Coffee Conference in Baguio City last November 2016.

It was the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that drafted a proposal for the creation of a Philippine Coffee Council, together with the Department of Agriculture (DA) under a Presidential Executive Order. The purpose was to increase production, to improve productivity, and to improve quality of the coffee industry in the Philippines.

The Philippine Coffee Council will serve as the national coordinating body that will consolidate the efforts of all government agencies concerned with the enhancement of the coffee industry in the country.

Unlike the already existing Philippine Coffee Board, a private organization which primarily helps in the promotion of coffee products in the country, the newly-established Philippine Coffee Council will be a government-based institution composed of selected stakeholders and players that are involved with the coffee supply chain — from farm production, primary processing, marketing, trading, secondary processing, finance, research and development.

DTI aims for “a cost-competitive, quality-driven, supply-reliable, product-diversified value chain from farming.”

This coffee roadmap targets to increase production and improve farmers’ living through high value agriculture.

This council is determined “to increase rural employment, lessen coffee bean and coffee products importation, and to promote environment-friendly technologies.”

Benitez, whose coffee shop brand is the largest Philippine homegrown chain, is committed to be active in the development of coffee industry in the country.

The Philippines used to be the third largest exporter of coffee in the world in the 1960s. Today, the country is importing over half of its coffee requirement. (FREEMAN)