DAVAO CITY (PIA) - The Philippine Coffee Expo 2022 opened this morning (Sept. 14) at the SMX Davao. It is said to be the largest gathering of the coffee industry players and stakeholders in the country.

The two-day event (Sept. 14-15) will have a trade exhibit, technical discussions, lectures, breakout sessions, and networking activities.

About 100 companies ranging from coffee producers, coffee equipment manufacturers, farm input suppliers, plus local government units, national government agencies, non-government organizations including home grown coffee pop-ups are participating in the trade exhibit.

There are also 1,000 delegates comprising those involved in the coffee supply chain that will be joining the plenary.

“This event was originally scheduled for April of 2020 so we are off-cycle normally we would be doing this in collaboration with PCQC (Philippine Coffee Quality Competition) but we decided because we were waiting for two and half years and we were able to gather, mass gathering is allowed now so we go ahead with it,” TJ Ryan, The Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise (PhilCAFE) chief-of-party said.

One of the Expo’s main organizers is the  United State Department of Agriculture-funded  PhilCAFE, a project investment for the Philippine coffee sector which leverages public and private capital and empowers institutions such as the Philippine Coffee Council and its representative regional councils, universities and colleges, and other market actors for sustainable change. 

Ryan said the expo is a great opportunity to promote the coffee sector and bring the people together.

“We  wanted to do it in the first possible opportunity we would have another Philippine Coffee Expo in 2023, in May,” Ryan said.

“One benefit is our exposure here we are from Calinan and our market is not just in the Calinan district but also downtown. Plus there are seminars where we can gain knowledge not just being a barista but also coffee knowledge,” says Edwin Lloyd Tira, a coffee entrepreneur who owns a coffee pop-up named Steep Coffee and who participated as one of the exhibitors.

Tira along with the other delegates will be listening to the lectures of several coffee experts from Columbia and Indonesia alongside Filipino coffee growers. (PIA/RG Alama)