DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Coffee farmers and businessmen are set to meet in SMX Convention Center at SM Lanang here on Oct. 12 to 13 for the 9th National Coffee Summit.
In a news conference here Monday, Lucky Sieffred Balleque, provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry in Compostela Valley, said the event will discuss the future of the coffee industry in the country.
About 65 percent of the coffee in the Philippine comes from Mindanao.
Thelonious Trimmel, an official of ACDI/VOCA, is eyeing a “huge opportunity” for the country to increase its production and improve its quality.
“The market for coffee in the Philippines and throughout Asia is growing,” Trimmel said of an economic development organization based in the U.S.
The relationship of the coffee industry to environmental issues will also be discussed in the forum, this “as long as we do it properly, from seed selection, nursery management, doing good agricultural practices, value creation, and making sure that we have one of the best coffee in the world,” Balleque said.
