THE exclusion of pre-packaged coffee products from the Sugar Sweetened Beverages Tax will ensure the competitiveness of the coffee industry and secure the livelihoods of thousands of small coffee farmers in the country.
This was shared by Silang, Cavite Vice Mayor Aidel Paul G. Belamide as the Congress now convenes to deliberate on the final inclusions of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN).
As Congress holds the final deliberations to impose additional tax on SSBs, including 3-in-1 coffee products (powdered and ready-to-drink), Belamide, who is also a farmer in the coffee-growing area of Cavite, urged Congress to look instead into the challenges already affecting the productivity and competitiveness of the coffee sector.
Alongside unpredictable climate and rapid commercial conversion of agriculture lands, he cited the supply-demand gap already affecting the coffee sector.
“Demand for coffee today far outpaces what the country can produce. In fact the country can only yield 25,000 metric tons compared to the demand that stands at 100,000 metric tons,” Belamide said.
“This places already a lot of burden to our small farmers as this demands them to produce more. An increase further in the prices of 3-in-1 coffee products would reduce the consumption of locally produced coffee products. Low demand from consumer will in turn discourage manufacturers of coffee to buy locally coffee beans from us since there’s a decreased market for the product,” Belamide said.
Belamide pointed that the whole supply chain will be affected—from growers, to manufacturers, to consumers—if 3-in-1 coffee products are to be taxed eventually. He further stressed that across the supply chain, it will be the coffee farmers who will stand to lose from the taxation. In Silang alone, he said there are already 15,000 coffee farmers.
“We actually thank our Senators for already excluding 3-in-1 coffee products from their version of SSB tax. However, we further appeal to our lawmakers in the upcoming bilateral committee on TRAIN, to consider the public good and protection of our consumers and local coffee producers when deciding on the SSB taxation on coffee,” Belamide concludes.
In the Senate’s version of TRAIN, a P4.50 per litre tax will be imposed to beverages with caloric sweeteners and non-caloric sweeteners, while a P9.00 per liter tax will be applied to beverages with high fructose corn syrup. Coffee and milk, however, are exempted. In the version meanwhile of the House of Representatives, a P10.00 to P 20.00 will be taxed on SSBs, including 3-in-1 coffee products.
