Asean Blend to perk up ADB Manila meeting

Coffee-producing members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are getting together to promote the region as a source of good coffee.

And what better way to showcase the regional blend and the cooperation among Asean coffee-producing countries than  the 45th Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Governors Meeting, dubbed Manila 2012.

The Asean Coffee Federation (ACF) is launching a special coffee blend with arabica beans sourced from selected coffee regions of Asean member-countries: Indonesia’s Lake Toba, Laos’ Bolaven Plateau, Thailand’s Doi Chang region, and the Philippines’ Benguet province.

The coffees were roasted and blended by Filipino master roaster Manny Torrejon, a director of the Philippine Coffee Board (PCB) who has been in the coffee trade for about 30 years.

Torrejon “cupped” different coffees from the ACF member-countries. That is, he selected the most suitable varieties to be combined in a flavorful and smooth blend.

The brew will be served to about 4,000 delegates and visitors of the ADB summit, which is being held from May 2 to 5 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Packs of the commemorative blend will be on sale during the four-day conference. They cost P350, or about $8, for a 200 gram pack of whole beans.

Regional effort

Having the Asean Blend perk up the participants at the ADB event goes beyond roasting and boasting, however. The proceeds from the sale of the commemorative blend will help the ACF and its members promote the planting of coffee among their farmers.

Asia is the source of about 80 percent of robusta coffee sold around the world. The demand is expected to rise to 30 million bags of coffee in 2020.

Asean members Indonesia and Vietnam are the region’s major producers of the robusta variety.

“It is time to showcase Asia as a major coffee source and the launch of the Asean Blend is the start of this promotion,” said PCB chair Nicholas Matti.

“This time, Philippine coffee will be featured together with other countries’ best arabicas, giving top value and a good premium for our local coffee farmers and other Asian coffee farmers as well,” he said.

After promoting Philippine coffee domestically for the past 10 years, the PCB joined the ACF as a founding member to fast-track the country’s development as a coffee-producing country, said Pacita Juan, the PCB cochair and president.

The impetus to create a regional coffee blend was a meeting that PCB representatives attended last year in Pakse, Laos, one of several that would be held around the region. Last February, the PCB invited ACF members to the Pahimis Coffee Festival in Amadeo, Cavite province, and finalized plans for the Asean Blend.

Regional cooperation is just what is needed in the Philippines and other countries that are not as well-known for producing coffee as Indonesia. On its own, the Philippines can supply specialty coffee beans in modest amounts, but cannot yet meet the huge volumes and strict consistency required by regular coffee buyers.

P4-B coffee import bill

The Philippines, in fact, imports 45,000 metric tons of coffee yearly for which it has an annual import bill of about P4 billion. The PCB has been meeting with farmers and local leaders to help in the goal of planting millions of seedlings, improve production and reestablish the Philippines as a coffee exporter, the way it was in the past until the 1990s.

The Philippines grows all four varieties of coffee: robusta, arabica, excelsa and liberica, the latter being the classification under which the country’s famous “Barako” falls.

The Philippine coffee industry was self-sufficient until about 1998, with producers exporting to such countries as the United States, Japan and Korea. In 1999, however, the market price of coffee fell sharply because of overproduction in Vietnam.

Coffee producers in the Philippines began abandoning the crop and the country has since become a net importer.

Develop niche products

The ACF membership, PCB said, provides a platform for coffee-producing countries in Southeast Asia, especially since the international trade is moving toward the removal of import tariffs.

“The Philippines would do well to develop niche products this early,” Matti said.

“We don’t have the volume to compete with our Asean neighbors on regular coffee. Developing specialty blends and value-added products would be our best strategy to keep coffee farmers earning even if cheap coffee imports come flooding in,” he said.

Those interested to learn more about the PCB and the ACF can log on to www.philcoffeeboard.com, follow them on twitter.com/philcoffeeboard, or go to Facebook: Asean Coffee Federation for updates.