CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, The Philippines – As part of strengthening the brands of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Northern Mindanao launched 14 coffee brands from Bukidnon province on December 7.
DTI Bukidnon Provincial Director Ermedio J. Abang said the brands were developed under the Brand Equity Development Program (BEDP) of the department, which targets to develop strong homegrown Philippine brands in both local and foreign markets.
“The launching was part of the promotions and marketing enhancement strategy of the BEDP which aims to enhance business opportunities and marketability of coffee products through effective brands and sustained income,” Abang said.
The 14 coffee brands are Café Corazon, Highland Robusta, Señor Rogelio, Arabica Filipina, Café Mabuhay, Twin Creek Coffee, Kapeyapaan, Hineleban Coffee, Monk’s Blend, Café Hermano, Cincona Coffee, 7 Tribes Coffee, Café Rico, and Kitanglad Brew.
During the launching, Adelina “Bae Inatlawan” Tarino, president of the Inhandig Tribal Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MPC), expressed gratitude to DTI for helping them market their coffee beans.
“Dako akong pasalamat nga nakaadto ako sa US tungod sa among kape” (I am thankful that I was able to go to the United States because of our coffee), she said.
The coffee beans of the Inhandig Tribal MPC won in the Green Coffee Quality Competition held in Cavite State University in early 2017 for the Arabica category.
It was the first national coffee competition that determined who produces the highest quality of coffee in the country.
Another brand from Bukidnon, the Kape Maramag, also won in the competition for the Robusta category.
Robusta and Arabica are the dominant coffee varieties grown in Bukidnon.
Abang noted that there are more than a hundred coffee farmers, mostly indigenous people (IP), in Bukidnon nurturing almost 2,000 hectares of highly productive coffee farms.
The DTI considered the coffee industry as one of its priority clusters.
Abang said the DTI is implementing several strategies to increase the profitability of all players in the coffee industry value chain and to make the Philippine coffee industry sufficient and globally competitive.
The strategies include plantation and post-harvest development, processing improvement, promotion and marketing enhancement, and creation of a sustainable enabling business environment through business development, investment promotion, financial access, and research and development.
