MANILA said it projects to wipe out its annual coffee imports estimated at 35,000 metric tons (MT) by 2016 as the private sector and the government undertake efforts to modernize the coffee industry.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said this is the timetable of a 10-year national coffee master plan which was “fine-tuned” in 2007.

“Our goal is to increase local coffee production by 40,000 MT in seven to eight years to fill the shortage in the country’s supply of the popular beverage,” said Yap in a statement.

Earlier, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has allocated around P350 million over a three-year period till 2010 to  help the private sector, led by the Philippine Coffee Board, modernize the coffee industry.

Under the coffee master plan, the DA will intensify the production of planting materials; continue support for the establishment and maintenance of foundation groves and scion groves; heightened rejuvenation efforts to boost productivity; and enhance support for the development of organic farms.

The DA will also transfer coffee-production technology through trainings, publications, etc., including the application of integrated pest-management strategies for pest control and reduction of postharvest losses; establishment of common service facility for processing of coffee; and the holding of market intelligence and promotional activities.

As part of efforts to expand coffee plantations all over the country, the DA launched a coffee and cacao program in Bohol recently. The initial target of the program is to plant coffee and cacao in 200 hectares of farmlands.

The DA said that for the first year, it will target the distribution of 200,000 pieces of coffee planting materials and another 200,000 pieces of planting materials for cacao. Each farmer-beneficiary will receive 100 seedlings.

Due to low production and the increase in coffee consumption in recent years, the Philippines was forced to import as much as 35,000 MT of coffee every year, mostly from Vietnam.

Last year the Philippines produced only 97,480 MT of coffee or 0.46 percent lower than the 97,880 MT harvested in 2007. Coffee production breached the 100,000 MT-mark in 2006.

Figures from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed that the country imported close to 20,000 MT of coffee worth $33.8 million in 2007. The top sources of imported coffee were Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore.

The country’s coffee industry is one of the biggest subsectors in the farm sector, with an estimated worth of P21 billion annually.