Nestlé opens satellite coffee bean buying station in Bukidnon

NESTLE Philippines Inc. (NPI) is expanding its network of satellite coffee bean buying stations in the country as it opens a new station in Valencia, Bukidnon, enabling hundreds of small farmers and small-scale intermediaries in the area to directly sell their high-quality green coffee beans to Nestlé.

Since their establishment, satellite buying stations have played a pivotal role in ensuring that coffee continues to become an attractive crop to grow, making it a sustainable source of livelihood for local growers in the country.

"Since its inception in 1986, the Nestle Satellite Coffee BeanBuying Stations have become the visible expression of our commitment to help grow the country's coffee industry. By opening satellite buying stations such as the one in Valencia, we are able to engage directly the coffee stakeholders and give assurance that even farmers from far-flung areas can still have direct access to Nestlé," said Edith de Leon, senior vice president and head of Corporate Affairs of NPI.

The satellite buying stations follow the direct buying policy of Nestlé that allows coffee farmers to bring and sell their harvest directly to Nestlé.

Coffee beans brought to the station undergo a fair grading and are offered a buying price aligned with the global market price for coffee. Farmers are then able to get payment within eight banking hours, allowing the farmers to benefit immediately from the sale while maximizing profits from their produce.

De Leon said the newly opened buying station in the municipality of Valencia, which sits right at the heart of Bukidnon, will help in the efforts of Nestle to further expand the country's coffee-resource base.

The municipality of Valencia, together with the surrounding municipalities of Bukidnon, currently boasts of significant coffee production with majority of the coffee being brought to the buying station classified as Grade 1.

According to De Leon, annual local demand for coffee beans is currently pegged at 64,000 metric tons. However, demand continues to grow, further stressing the importance of having buying stations accessible to farmers in agriculture regions such as Bukidnon.

As the biggest buyer of coffee in the country, purchasing around 80 percent of the entire Philippine coffee produce, Nestlé plans to establish more satellite coffee buying stations in key coffee-growing areas in the country, with another station expected to open this year in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur, said De Leon. (PR)