PATRONIZING LOCALLY GROWN FILIPINO COFFEE

PATRONIZING LOCALLY GROWN FILIPINO COFFEE To my fellow Filipinos: If I have a choice, and under normal circumstances, I will rather go to Figaro’s Coffee or Bo’s Coffee instead of Starbucks Coffee or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) or any other foreign franchised brand. But then again, there are other factors that I must consider, such as the proximity of local branches, and the availability of parking spaces in those branches. The reason why I prefer to go to the local franchised Filipino coffee shops is because I know that they serve coffee drinks made from locally grown coffee beans. That is also the reason why I drink Nescafe instant coffee at home, because I know that Nestle buys coffee beans from local coffee farmers. Not only that, Nestle has been supporting these farmers by improving their yields and incomes, and by promoting their sustainable farming practices. The bad news is, both Starbucks and CBTL are sourcing their coffee beans mostly from abroad. But the good news is, they have started buying local coffee beans in some countries where they operate, such as what they are doing in Yunnan Province in China. Although the details are unclear, CBTL is now serving coffee made from beans coming from a variety of sources, including the Philippines. Although the Philippines is theoretically a “free market” economy, I believe that there is nothing wrong if the government will encourage both Starbucks and CBTL to also start serving coffee made from locally grown beans. Aside from that, the government could probably offer some incentives to these two companies, so that they would be encouraged to export coffee beans to their branches all over the world. I am also drinking San Mig Sugar Free 3 in 1 coffee because it tastes good, but how I wish that SMC will make it locally or get a local company to toll manufacture it here, instead of toll manufacturing it in Thailand. Can you imagine if San Mig Coffee Mix could become an export product instead? Can you imagine what good that could do to our local economy? Can you imagine how many coffee farmers that could help? While the DTI is actively trying to promote our coffee products abroad, some multi-level marketing (MLM) companies like DXN and Organo Gold are raking in millions from coffees made in Malaysia. I need not ask, but of course we know that those who are selling these products are doing so because they are making money, but it is sad to note that by buying coffees made abroad, we are reducing the livelihood of our coffee farmers. It is a good thing that DTI is now promoting its “Buy Local” program, but perhaps they could be encouraged to talk to these foreign companies to also start buying locally grown coffee? Or perhaps convince them to eventually export our local coffee products? I do not know the particulars for now, but to encourage them, we could probably give them some tax incentives. Very truly yours, IKE SENERES/11-09-2024