WEATHER/CLIMATE/POPULATION

Baguio City is located some 1,600 meters above sea level, nestled within the Cordillera Central mountain range in northern Luzon.
The city is enclosed by the province of Benguet. It covers a small area of 57.5 square kilometers. Most of the developed part of the
city is built on uneven, hilly terrain of the northern section. When Daniel Burnham plotted the plans for the city, he made the City Hall
as a reference point where the city limits extend 8.2 kilometers (5.1 mi) from east to west and 7.2 kilometers (4.5 mi) from north to
south. It is the highest major Philippine city in terms of elevation.

Baguio City features a subtropical highland climate under the Köppen climate classification. The city is known for its mild climate. It
is because of this that Baguio is nicknamed the “Summer Capital of the Philippines”. Owing to its high elevation, the temperature in
the city is 8 degrees Celsius lower compared to the average temperature of the rest of the country.Average temperature ranges from 15
to 23 degrees Celsius. It is usually lower during the late and early months of the year. The lowest recorded temperature was 6.3
degrees Celsius on January 18, 1961. This is in contrast to the all-time high of 30.4 degrees Celsius recorded on March 15, 1988
during the 1988 El Niño season.Baguio seldom exceeds 26 degrees Celsius even during the warmest part of the year.

Like many other cities with a subtropical highland climate, Baguio sees noticeably less precipitation during its dry season. However,
the city has an extraordinary amount of precipitation during the rainy season, with the months of July and August having on average
more than 1,000 mm of rain. Baguio averages over 4500 mm of precipitation annually.

Baguio City has a total land area of 57.49 square kilometers nestled 5,000 feet above sea level. It has an average temperature of 16°C,
which is cooler than most Philippine lowland temperatures by about 10°C. Today, the city is home to some 350,000 people of diverse
cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds. The central business district is defined by dense commercial areas along the main
thoroughfares, namely, Session, Magsaysay, Abanao, and Harrison roads.
COFFE INDUSTRY

 (PIA) – Coffee lovers say a cup of coffee in the morning makes your day.

But coffee drinkers would claim, it’s up to your coffee!

Well, coffee experts say the best Arabica coffee in the Philippines is grown in the highlands, particularly in the province of Benguet.

Produced in the upland farms of Atok, Itogon, La Trinidad, Tuba, Kibungan, and Tublay in Benguet, this variety of coffee blends well
with the upland climate to produce the country’s top-coffee blend. Because of distinct taste and quality, Benguet Arabica Coffee is
now a leading coffee brand in the  market.

During the 3rd Philippine Coffee Conference held in Baguio City  in March  last year, Benguet-grown Arabica coffee  emerged as the
champion for the best Arabica coffee  in the country,  besting  entries from other regions. Judges, international and local coffee
experts,  unanimously voted for  the Arabica  coffee  entry  of Oliver Oliem  of Caliking, Atok,   that  blends the characteristics of
apricot, lemongrass, pomelo, oolong Tea and the aroma of a rose, as the best.

Other  Benguet  coffee entries that won in the  2018 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition  were  those of   Restie Labi Tacio of
Atok,  and  Belen Macanes  of Sagpat, Kibungan  in third  and fifth  places, respectively. 

What brings the distinctive taste of Benguet Arabica coffee?

Oliver Oliem, chair of the Cordillera Regional Coffee Council, elaborated how the distinct and great taste of their produce had pushed
the coffee industry to be now the province’s booming industry.

Oliem explained    the entire system in production tells it all.

Grown from seedlings of their own nurseries, farmers grow their coffee plants through pure organic farming without using pesticides
or any chemical input.  He shared that Benguet farmers practice multi-cropping in their coffee lands by planting other crops in
between coffee trees like anthurium, strawberries and vegetables to add more income.   
During harvest, usually in the months of November to March, farmers do not strip-off the coffee beans. They pick only the ripened
ones one by one, leaving the unripe beans. This assures that the beans come from selected pick.

In drying, farmers adapt elevated-drying system where de-hulled coffee beans are spread on drying beds, instead of just putting them
on the ground.  This way, the beans are kept away from soil microbes making it arsenic-free adding a factor to its distinct taste, Oliem
said.

Shirley Palao-ay, President of the Tuba Benguet Coffee Growers Association, Inc. (TUBENGCOGA), informed that among Benguet
coffee farmers, the production of ‘honey-blend’ Arabica coffee is gaining headway.

Processors do not wash hulled beans before drying to retain the natural sugar in their coffee-produce. Even without sweetening, this
brewed coffee comes naturally sweet, she said.

Dry coffee beans sell from P300/kg-P350/kg among traders, which sometimes even go higher.

Oliem noted the price is dictated based on the coffee grade given by trained cup Q-graders, who classify the quality of the coffee.

Growing industry

With the fast-growing market of the Benguet Arabica Coffee caused by increasing demand in the market, the 300 coffee farmers of
Benguet grew to be more than a thousand in five years. 

The coffee industry is becoming a lucrative source of income among farmers in the province. This translates to more families being
able to send their children to college, more families having better homes and more families assured of brighter future.

Oliem   acknowledged the coffee industry of Benguet   has not reached this far without interventions from government agencies like
the Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Training Institute, Benguet State University, Department of Trade and Industry,
Department of Agrarian Reform and PhilMech   thru their support-programs on certified seedling production, organic farming,
improved post-harvest facilities and marketing promotion. (JDP/LL-PIA CAR)

TOURISM

Baguio tourist arrivals up

The city enjoyed a 13 percent increase in tourist arrivals from January to September this year, according to the third quarter tourism
statistics report of the City Tourism and Special Events Office.
According to the report released by City Administrator Carlos Canilao and acting city tourism and special events operations officer
Jose Maria Rivera, a total of 1,013, 704 tourists have visited the city from January to September this year.
The figure is higher by 115,100 or a 12.81 percent increase of tourist arrivals as compared to the date for the same period in 2016.
The report was based on the data supplied by the various accommodation establishments in the city including hotels, resorts,
apartelles, pension houses, tourism inns and other licensed and unaccredited establishments all over the city. It does not include data
from alternative establishments like home stay facilities or transient homes, serviced apartments, dormitories and private homes.
Based on the data, the biggest increase was posted in the months of January and February which chalked up 33.25 percent and 23.59
percent increase, respectively.
April and May remained to be the peak months for tourists with 143,966 and 133,343 arrivals respectively followed closely by
January with 132,293 and February with 129,233.
Majority of the tourists are Philippine residents (977,499) and rest foreigners and Overseas Filipino Workers.
Among the foreigners, Americans were the top patrons followed by Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Singaporeans, Canadians and
Australians with a number coming from Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.
Based on the report the average occupancy rate was 40.36 percent for the said period with the visitors having an average length of stay
of 1.52 days.
For said period, the city hosted a total of 1,977 conferences, 1,725 of which are regional in scope with a total of 746,129 participants.
According to the CTSEO, some of the factors that affected this year’s tourist arrivals were the moratorium on field trips as issued by
the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education following the tragic bus accident involving college students in
Tanay, Rizal, the alleged National People’s Army attack to nearby municipality, car accidents and landslides along major routes going
to the city. – Aileen P. Refuerzo

SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

Number of social network users in the Philippines from 2017 to 2023 (in millions)

by Statista Research Department,last edited Aug 14, 2019

It is expected that by 2023, around 62.5 million Filipinos will become users of a social network. Considering the forecasted population
of around 118 million, it reflects the high popularity of social media in the Philippines.

Current state of social media in the Philippines

The Philippines have been called the social media capital of the world, because most of the social media users have an extraordinarily
high usage time of about four hours per day. Additionally, they are known as early technology adopters, as well as being highly
internet-savvy. Yet the infrastructure cannot keep up with the population’s needs. The archipelago consists of around seven thousand
islands, making it difficult for the government to provide basic connectivity. As of 2017, around 64 million out of 105 million
inhabitants had internet access. While 81 percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds were already online, only twelve percent of those aged 55
years and older were able to access the internet .

How are the Philippines able to improve their accessibility?

Since it is widely recognized that internet access has an impact on economic growth, local authorities must focus on further expanding
the network. There are few promising technologies to do so: fiber cables could be installed and even reduce the cost of
telecommunication companies in the end. The upcoming 5G network could help connect remote areas with a trustworthy connection,
and if that is too far into the future, satellites could be a viable choice for now; they are able to reach every point on the earth, making
them key for achieving nationwide connectivity.
https://gs.statcounter.com/social-media-stats/all/philippines

COFFE LOVER

Coffee retains crown as staple drink of Filipinos - study

By CNN Philippines Staff
Updated 23:55 PM PHT Tue, October 20, 2015
11222

A Kantar Worldpanel study found that Filipinos are heavy coffee drinkers.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Coffee remains the "go-to" drink of Filipinos, a recent study by Kantar Worldpanel revealed.

But beside being the staple drink in the country, the study also found that Filipinos shifted from being moderate to heavy coffee
drinkers.
 Filipinos are buying coffee products close to twice a week — or about 81 times a year — spending an average of P22 per shopping
trip.

Heavy coffee buyers, on the other hand, buy close to thrice a week — or 126 times in a year — spending an average of P28 per
shopping trip.

Tracking the shopping behavior of 3,000 households across the country from June 2014 to June 2015, Kantar Worldpanel discovered
that for every P100 spent on beverages, P30 is allotted for coffee.

Related: Filipinos trust word-of-mouth recommendations the most - Nielsen

This is an increase from last year's P28.

"Coffee remains to be the go-to beverage of Filipinos for an instant pick-me-up or energy boost," Lourdes Deocareza, New Business
Development head of Kantar Worldpanel Philippines, said.

Among coffee varieties, the 3-in-1 mixes drive the growth in sales.

Markets that are driving the sales of coffee mixes are Metro Manila, South Luzon, and Mindanao. The study said that consumers from
Metro Manila and Mindanao spend P193 and P110 more on the average, respectively.

According to Kantar Worldpanel, coffee sales grew 10 percent in June 2015, compared to its four percent in the same month last year.

Data from the study showed that the increase of purchases of coffee mixes has been consistent for the past two years and that 93
percent of Filipino homes buy coffee mixes at least once a week.

Buyers were found to be typically Metro Manila- and urban-based and from homes with a relatively older demographic.

"Filipinos' love for coffee is growing stronger by the year. Our data reflects their openness to embrace different formats of coffee
products as well. We anticipate this category growth to continue in the coming years," Deocareza explained.

https://www.statista.com/outlook/30010000/123/coffee/philippines

 Revenue in the Coffee segment amounts to US$5,727m in 2019. The market is expected to grow annually by 6.9% (CAGR
2019-2023).
 The market's largest segment is the segment Instant Coffee with a market volume of US$5,026m in 2019.
 In global comparison, most revenue is generated in the United States (US$80,916m in 2019).
 In relation to total population figures, per person revenues of US$52.97 are generated in 2019.
 The average per capita consumption stands at 1.4 kg in 2019.
 Revenue (2019)
 +6.6% yoy 
 US$5,727m
 Average Revenue per Capita (2019)
 +5.1% yoy 
 US$52.97