The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expects the Philippine coffee sector to grow substantially. As reported in the Manila Times, the government aims to increase its sufficiency level from the current 41.6 percent to 161 percent by 2022 under an industry plan signed last year.
In a statement last week, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said his agency was working with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to ensure that the industry would be on a par with top coffee producers Brazil, Vietnam, Columbia, Indonesia, and Honduras.
The country currently produces about 37,000 tons of the coffee annually.
Leading producers are Region 12 (Soccsksargen), with 25,100.77 metric tons (MT); Region 11 (Davao), 11,429.78 MT; Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), 10,341.59 MT; Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), 5,604.95 MT; and Region 6 (Western Visayas), 4,356.25 MT.
