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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 80% of PH's coffee supply is imported, solon reveals 

80% of PH's coffee supply is imported, solon reveals 

Published Nov 6, 2023 11:28 pm

At A Glance

  • Palawan 2nd district Rep. Jose Alvarez disclosed that only 20 percent of the Philippines' coffee supply was locally sourced.

nathan-dumlao-nBJHO6wmRWw-unsplash.jpgA cup of coffee (Usplash)

A Filipino breakfast is not complete without a cup of coffee. But chances are, what you had this morning wasn’t produced by local farmers.

In a House Committee on Agriculture and Food hearing Monday, Nov. 6, Palawan 2nd district Rep. Jose Alvarez disclosed that only 20 percent of the Philippines’ coffee supply was locally sourced.

Alvarez raised this disturbing fact as he proposed bill that sought to streamline the coffee industry during the panel hearing.

“For your information, we are importing about 80 percent of our coffee requirements. You’re only producing [20 percent]. Kawawa na tayo sa country (Our country is in a poor situation),” he told an attending Department of Agriculture (DA) official.

Alvarez was quick to assert that newly-installed DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel should address this matter.

“Mayroon kayong bagong secretary ng DA, siguro naman ma-bring up mo sa kaniya na sa meeting ito pinag-usapan natin paano palaguin o palaganapin ‘yung kape sa buong Pilipinas para at least man lang, hindi to satisfy our needs, but huwag na tayong dollar gainer, import tayo ng kape,” the solon said.

(You have a new secretary of the DA, maybe you can bring up to him that in this meeting we talked about growing or spreading coffee throughout the Philippines so that at least, not to satisfy our needs, but we would no longer be dollar gainers because we import coffee.)

Laurel has replaced President Marcos himself in running the DA.

The Palawan solon also emphasized the need to strengthen the self-sufficiency of not only the coffee industry but the industries of other essential grains as well.

“Remember, yung ating pangangailan sa bigas mas paramount yun import tayo ng import. Kape import din tayo ng import. Mabuti kung hindi mawalan ng supply all over the world”, Alvarez argued.

ALSO READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/23/99-of-ph-s-dairy-needs-are-imported-house-panel-told

(Remember, our need for rice is more paramount but we continuously import. We also continuously import coffee. It's only good if there’s supply all over the world.)

In recent months, House committee hearings have revealed that basic breakfast staples such as rice, milk, and other dairy products were primarily foreign-sourced.

An August hearing bared that 99 percent of the country’s dairy supply was imported. --Dexter Barro II

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