Historically, coffee beans had travelled around the globe until it became the most drank beverage worldwide. Today, Ifugao coffee beans are still travelling. On January 12, 2022, Hojap Multipurpose Cooperative of Asipulo, Ifugao, delivered robusta green beans and roasted coffee at Santiago City, Isabela. DTI Ifugao under the CARP Program coordinated with DTI-CARP Isabela to match Hojap MPC to two institutional buyers, Dale’s Coffee Shop and OTOP Philippines Hub Santiago. This generated initial sales of Php 10,015.00.

Hojap MPC is one of the leading coffee processors in the province of Ifugao. Their coffee products have reached as far as Manila and even Visayas. However, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cooperative struggled in marketing their products due to the constraints in logistics. Unsold dried coffee berries accumulated to as high as 54 tons in their storage houses. To address this problem, DTI-CARP Ifugao assisted in market matching to local retailers, pasalubong stores and coffee shops in the province. This year, market matchings are being extended outside the province to increase the cooperative’s market reach.

Currently, the cooperative has an inventory of around 45 tons of dried coffee berries. With the continuous marketing assistances under the DTI-CARP, the cooperative is very optimistic that these will lead to countless repeat orders that will propel them back to the top of their potential. ♦

Date of Release: 24 February 2022