By 2015, all tariffs will be removed for coffee traveling around the AFTA signatory countries. The only way coffee can compete in the region is if the quality matches its price. The best person who can tell us about competitiveness is Mr Guillermo “Bill” Luz, a former trustee of the Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI) and who now heads the National Competitiveness Council.


Mr Luz is the guest of honor at the opening of the COFFEE ORIGINS 2011 exhibit at the Greenbelt 5 Gallery on October 7, 2011 at 6pm. All stakeholders in coffee including instant coffee manufacturers, roasters and processors are invited to grace the event. “A united coffee industry is key if we must compete well and give a good fight,” says PCB Chair Nicholas Matti. “We in the Philippine Coffee Board are inviting all coffee players to give our inputs to the NCC so we can be given fair play or an even playing field in the years to come.”


Rather than be divisive due to coffee prices’ volatile nature and the highly competitive atmosphere in coffee trading, Mr Matti is asking all coffee players to unite so that the country can compete, and compete well.

This being coffee month, the PCB has lined up many activities for all stakeholders to participate in and also for the public to enjoy.


Log on to www.philcoffeeboard.com for more information. The 4th National Coffee Summit is one event that both public and private sectors should not miss. It was held last October 13, 2011 at the AIM Conference Center.