Coffee production in the Philippines

Coffee is an important agricultural product in the Philippines, and is one of the Philippines' most important export products aside from being in high demand in the country's local consumer market.

The Philippines is one of the few countries that produce the four main viable coffee varieties; Arabica, Liberica (Barako), Excelsa and Robusta. 90 percent of coffee produced in the country is Robusta. There have been efforts to revitalize the coffee industry.

As of 2014, the Philippines produces 25,000 metric tons of coffee and is ranked 110th in terms of output. However local demand for coffee is high with 100,000 metric tons of coffee consumed in the country per year.

Coffee was said to have been introduced in the Philippines around 1696 when the Dutch introduced coffee in the islands. It was once a major industry in the Philippines, which by the 1800s was the fourth largest coffee producing nation.

However, Islamic culture has been pervaded by coffee drinkers from the 1500s. And with the close ties of the Philippines to the Islamic World since the 12th century, it would not be impossible to speculate that coffee has been in the Philippines before the Dutch "introduced" it.