GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Coffee enthusiasts in this city are in for a treat with a three-day event, culminating today, July 24, at the Yaman Gensan Coffee Fair organized by DTI General Santos City Satellite Office (DTI Gensan) in partnership with the Local Government Unit of General Santos City.

The coffee fair, taking place at Veranza Mall Gensan, is part of the month-long celebration of the Yaman Gensan, an annual event in Gensan that celebrates and promotes the local Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

In collaboration with the conduct of the event are the Barista Association of Region 12 and the Gensan Coffee Association, which aim to offer the public a diverse array of brewed coffee, concoctions, and roasted coffee products being offered for sale by the city’s participating local coffee shops and processors.

Shoppers were also treated to various coffee appreciation sessions, including a free lecture on “Understanding the Coffee Value Chain” by Fred Fredeluces, a renowned local coffee processor and CEO of Greentropics Coffee.

The event featured inspiring testimonies from local farmers Rey John Basco and Dione Ellaga, who made it to the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition 2023, the biggest annual green coffee competition in the country.

Additionally, attendees had the opportunity to experience public cupping to taste some of Region 12’s PCQC winning entries and witness the brewers’ cup competition.

Adding to the allure of the event, the public is also presented with artworks created using coffee as the medium in the 1st Yaman Gensan Coffee Art Competition, showcasing the talents of local artists.

In an interview, Flora Politud-Gabunales, the Regional Director of DTI 12, said that the event supports the positioning claim for Region 12 as the coffee capital of the country.

“This event aims to reinforce Region 12’s position as the Coffee Capital of the Philippines, proudly holding the distinction of being the country’s leading coffee producer coupled with our advocacy for the production of quality coffee, exemplified by the Kape Dose Coffee Collective and Quality Mark initiative,” said Politud-Gabunales.

Besides the proliferation of coffee shops in General Santos City, several highland areas in the city are engaged in producing Robusta coffee, and one of the city’s farmers, Marcelo Dizon, was recognized and awarded as the 10th best Robusta coffee in the Kape Dose Coffee Quality Competition, a search for the finest Robusta and Arabica coffees in Region 12.

Based on the 2021 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Region 12 boasts the widest area devoted to coffee production in the country, with 26,172 hectares dedicated to this thriving crop, which translates to approximately 34.66 percent of the domestic coffee production. ♦

Date of release: 25 July 2023

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