Philippines Coffee Overview

History or Myth?

Growth in the 19th century

Following the aftermath of the American Civil War, in the 1865, there was a sudden increase of demand for Philippine coffee in the United States since it became cheaper importing coffee from the Philippines than importing coffee from BrazilBrazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra sang, “they grow an awful lot of coffee in Brazil”.: Brazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra…. Barako from Batangas was shipped from Manila to San Francisco. Half of the Philippines’ coffee export in that year were shipped to San Francisco. Coffee also began to be exported to Europe following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. In 1876, coffee was introduced in the town of Amadeo in neighboring Cavite and the province began producing coffee. However, Lipa remained as the main producer of coffee in the Philippines and Batangas barako cost five times as much as JavaThere are several types of Abyssinia variety coffee, but they are not from Ethiopia but rather Indonesia. Abyssinia 3 = AB3.  PJS Cramer, a Dutch plant researcher, introduced this variety… beans. In 1880, the Philippines was the fourth largest exporter of coffee beans. Coffee production in competitor regions of Brazil, Africa and Java declined when coffee rust plagued the regions and from 1887 to 1889, the Philippines was the only source of coffee in the world.

Decline in the 1880s-1890s: In 1889, coffee production in the country saw a great decline following the introduction of coffee rust in the country and increased incidence of insect infestation. These elements virtually destroyed all coffee trees in Batangas. By 1891, coffee production in the country was reduced to 1/6 of its total production two years earlier. By this period, Brazil has regained its position as a major coffee producer. Surviving coffee seedlings were transferred to Cavite as many farmers in Batangas shifted to growing other crops.

Philippine Coffee Post-World War II

During the 1950s, the Philippine government, with assistance from Americans, introduced a varietyA botanical variety is a rank in the taxonomic hierarchy below the rank of species and subspecies and above the rank of form (form / variety / subspecies… of coffee to the country which is more resistant. Instant coffee began to be produced in commercial quantities which resulted to the increase of demand for coffee. Many farmers began shifting back to growing coffee in the 1960s. Importation of coffee were momentarily stopped due to a surplus in the world market due to sudden proliferation of coffee farms. In 1980, the Philippines became a member of the International Coffee Organization (ICOThe ICO, International Coffee Organization, is the governing body for the world coffee trade. The ICO was responsible for the quota system that limited exports from each country,…).

Coffee in the 21st century

The bean belt and the top 20 coffee producing countries in 2011 according to FAOSTAT which includes the Philippines.

Demand for coffee experienced growth. In 2002, the yearly coffee consumption of the Philippines was 75,000 metric tons. This figure grew to 170,000 metric tons annually by 2018. As of the same year, the Philippines began to import coffee due to low coffee production at only 35,000 metric tons annually. It imports about 75,000-100,000 metric tons of dried coffee beans amounting ₱7-10 billion from Vietnam and IndonesiaUSDA is (obviously) the United States Department of Agriculture. USDA also had coffee plant breeding programs in the past and one variety they distributed to Indonesia and was… according to the DepartmentA Department is the term used in some Latin American countries for a State or County. For example, Huila Department is the state in the South of Colombia. of Agriculture.

By 2016, according to PhilMech, an agency under DA, Mindanao is the leader of local production of dried coffee beans. Sultan Kudarat is the province that produces the most coffee in the island. Coffee production in traditional cultivation areas such as the Cordillera and Calabarzon experienced a decline due to strong typhoons which battered the region in the same year.