Another shared service facility for coffee processing has been opened in San Elias village in Sigay, Ilocos Norte, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

With help from the Sigay local government, the DTI’s PHP670,000 facility was turned over for use by the San Elias Coffee Growers Association which has at least 36 active members.

In an interview Friday, DTI Ilocos Sur provincial director Rosario Quodala said the latest shared service facility is the second one that the DTI has turned over to the town, with the first one earlier given to the Sigay Coffee Growers Cooperative with 236 members.

“The coffee industry looks promising in this part of Luzon as they can command the market price of their quality coffee products which is currently pegged at PHP700 per kilo,” said Quodala, as she expressed hopes more coffee products will be developed to cater to a wider market.

As the coffee capital of the province, Sigay’s locally produced Robusta coffee is a much sought-after product in Ilocos Sur as it was hailed as the Best Philippine-origin Robusta coffee during the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition last March 18.

Grown by Mabini Ubuan from Sigay town, the province’s Robusta coffee entry garnered a score of 84.41 at the competition, besting entries from more than 80 growers across the country. Ubuan’s coffee also bagged the top spot in the competition last year.

The coffee has notes of cherry, almond, caramel, dark chocolate, dates and prunes.

Sigay town has its own Coffee Processing Center and has been supplying coffee beans and packed coffee powder within Ilocos Sur and Baguio City. Their products also reach as far as Cagayan De Oro and abroad.

Coffee is one of the priority industries in the region as it is grown in the upland towns of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union, according to the DTI. (PNA)