FREEPIK By Patricia B. Mirasol, Reporter THE coffee industry said it expects to benefit from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, standing apart from the rest of the agriculture sector, which has raised the loudest objections against the trade deal. The ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) already allows all Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) coffees to come in and out freely, Pacita U. Juan, vice-president of the non-profit ASEAN Coffee Federation, said. “RCEP for coffee adds Japan, Korea, and China (to the mix),” she said in a Feb. 3 Zoom call. AFTA was a stress test for the coffee industry, Ms. Juan added: “If it were to shake up the coffee industry, it should have shaken it up already.” RCEP will help farmers if the Philippine coffee industry avoids commodification and works out a way to promote its beans as products with distinctive origins, according to Ariestelo A. Asilo, a social entrepreneur and co-founder of Varacco, Inc., a food and beverage company. “This free trade agreement will benefit farmers — as long as we strengthen our geographical markers of coffee and rice,” he said, referring to geographical indications (GI) system. “In other countries they have chocolates, ours […]
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