Baguio produces, sells own coffee brand

Local officials are reminding residents and visitors that the Summer Capital has its own Baguio City Farmers Cooperative (BCFC) that produces coffee products that are currently being sold in the market.     

Councilor Philian Weygan Allan disclosed that coffee beans processed by the cooperative are from plantations owned by farmers in the city.      

“Yes, we do have coffee plantations in Baguio city that now produces competitive coffee brands that it can be proud of,” she stressed.     

Chair of the august body’s committee on market, trade, commerce and agriculture, Allan spearheaded the formation of the cooperative in 2019.    

In 2021, she authored City Ordinance No. 2 or the ‘Coffee Ordinance of the City of Baguio’ that establishes the Baguio City Coffee Processing Center appropriating funds for the skills enhancement of local coffee growers and farmers.      

She said that the Department of Trade and Industry-CAR provided the BCFC with a processing center through the Shared Services Facilities program.    

The center will do all the steps of coffee production such as depulping, hulling, grinding, roasting, sorting, vacuum packaging, impulse sealing, and product delivery, the alderman said.

“The coffee industry is laborious and time-consuming. Due to the absence or lack of facilities, low quality coffee is produced and sold at a low price. An estimated 30 percent of the projected harvest is lost by farmers,” Allan said. 

She said a processing center will increase the productivity of coffee growers as they will be provided with energy-efficient technologies and more sophisticated equipment resulting in the increase of their revenue and the sustainability of their coffee farms.      

Allan cited the invaluable efforts of the DTI-CAR, Department of Agriculture-CAR, City Veterinary and Agricultural Office, the city council, other officials and agencies that made it possible for Baguio to have its own coffee brand.- Gaby Keith and Jordan Habbiling