Coffee board seeks P150-M budget support

The Philippine Coffee Board is seeking budgetary support from the Department of Agriculture to allow the local coffee industry to increase its production of local coffee beans to 75,000 metric tons by 2015 from the projected production for crop year 2008 to 2009 of 30,000 MT.

In a press briefing, Joel Lumagbas, director of the Philippine Coffee Board, said the coffee industry is seeking a budgetary assistance of P150 million from the DA.

The DA, Lumagbas pointed out, has never provided financial assistance to the coffee industry in the past, leaving the private sector to finance its own growth.

However, in line with the DA’s policy of encouraging food sufficiency, the Philippine Coffee Board in now hoping that the government would be willing to provide assistance to the local coffee growing sector.

While the Philippines produces only about 30,000 MT of coffee beans, local consumption is around 65,000 MT.

Thus, the country has to resort to importations to meet actual consumption requirement.

The additional 35,000 MT has to be imported at a cost of P90 per ton. Lumagbas said, this would cost a substantial P3 billion which would go to coffee exporting countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Philippine Coffee Board, Lumagbas said, has conducted initial talks with the DA’s High Value Commercial Crops program unit.

The P150 million, if given by the DA, Lumagbas said, would be used to procure planting materials and fertilizers.

However, Lumagbas said, the local coffee industry plans to rely more on organic fertilizer rather than on the more expensive inorganic fertilizers.