When it comes to coffee, people may often think of Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia first, and few people know that the Philippines also produces coffee. In fact, coffee has been produced in the Philippines for nearly 200 years. The Philippines is one of the few countries where four coffee varieties can be grown, namely Robert, Liberica, Exelsa, and Arabica. Moreover, the Philippines once topped the position of the number one coffee producer. So why is Filipino coffee no longer beautiful? Is it possible to reach the top again?
History of Filipino coffee
In fact, as early as the middle of the eighteenth century, coffee production began in the Philippines. In the nineteenth century, coffee began to be exported to the United States. At the time, coffee from Batanga was considered a luxury item, four times more expensive than coffee from other countries. At that time, the Philippines was the fourth largest coffee exporter in the world.
The reason why coffee sold well in the Philippines at that time was that the coffee quality was really good, and on the other hand, coffee rust was prevalent at that time. Coffee rust is a fungal disease that reduces the yield of coffee trees and even causes them to die directly. At that time, the Philippines jumped to the top, swept the coffee market, and became the world's largest coffee producer in those years. Until coffee rust was introduced to the Philippines, the domestic coffee industry gradually fell into loneliness.
No chance to get back to the top?
Although the time as the "king of the coffee world" is very short, it can also show the coffee strength of the Philippines. However, nowadays, although the flavor of Philippine coffee is still the same, the market has been divided by more and more other countries. By 2020, the Philippines could only rank 24th among coffee-producing countries. So why is it that although coffee rust has been solved in the Philippines, it has not returned to its peak?
The main reason is probably natural causes. In the past, the demand for coffee production was not as large as it is today. Today, with the development of world trade, the demand for output has increased exponentially compared to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although the Philippines is very suitable for growing coffee in terms of humidity, sunshine, rainfall, etc., the Philippines, as an archipelago country, has a small land surface and cannot compete with countries with large areas of arable land, which greatly limits the upper limit of Philippine coffee production.
In addition, due to its geographical location, the Philippines is often hit by violent typhoons, which can also greatly affect coffee production.
In fact, throughout history, the Philippines has relied heavily on importing coffee from other countries to meet its needs. In 1960, Philippine officials introduced a law banning the import of coffee in an attempt to stimulate the domestic coffee industry. This law did have a brief effect after its implementation. Including the International Coffee Agreement, export quotas are also imposed, which also provides a certain international environment for the implementation of this law in the Philippines. But with the withdrawal of the United States, the 1989 International Coffee Agreement was revoked, and the Philippine law became invalid.
Today, the Philippine coffee industry lags behind other countries in many ways. Due to the small size of the coffee industry, coffee is more expensive to sell than in rival countries, but the quality has not become better. If you want to improve quality, you first need to upgrade the basic production facilities. However, local farmers in the Philippines do not have the conditions to improve at their own expense, which makes the overall reputation of Philippine coffee not so top-notch in the world. This has also created a vicious circle in the Philippine coffee industry, and it is difficult to return to its former peak position.
In fact, overall, Filipino coffee is still very worth trying. Since the Philippines has more than 7,000 islands, each of them grows coffee with a different flavor. Expert tasters and coffee competition judges often describe Filipino coffee as a unique blend of African and Indonesian flavors to those who have not tried Filipino coffee. If you have a curious partner, you may wish to buy some yourself and taste it. If you have experienced Filipino coffee, you may wish to share its taste in the comment area.
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