THE Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI) has continued to promote the potentials of Mindanao's coffee industry as it is set to stage anew the annual Coffee Festival dubbed as "Coffee Origins" in Davao City.
Opportunities and challenges confronting the industry are also to be discussed during the event slated on October 21-25 at Abreeza Ayala Mall.
Now on its 13th year, the five-day event will highlight the potential of Arabica coffee in Mindanao.
Francisco "Kiko" Pangilinan, former presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization, is expected to grace the event as the keynote speaker. He is expected to tackle the industry's prospects and challenges.
Lawyer Lucky Siegfred Balleque of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will also be among the speakers in the event and will tackle the coffee industry's marketing and trading updates.
The 13the Coffee Origins carries the theme: "Thinking Asean."
The event will gather coffee merchants and partners, aficionados and enthusiasts, sponsors, and industry stakeholders, among others.
"We are inviting again all the coffee lovers to participate in this annual event in support to our pursuit of promoting and developing the coffee industry," Pacita U. Juan, PCBI president, said in press statement.
"Surely, they will enjoy our exhibit of coffee blends and single origins, machines, equipment and other coffee paraphernalia," she said.
In last year's staging of the festival, it was reported that the country production is only at 30 percent of the annual total market demand for coffee, which can be translated to only 30,000 metric tons (MT).
Annual market demand is estimated to be at 100,000 MT.
According to PCBI, some 70 percent of 30,000 MT annual production is from coffee-producing areas in Mindanao. Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Bukidnon, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato and Davao City are the coffee-producing areas in the island.