The Singapore Coffee Association (SCA) will team up with the Asean Coffee Federation (ACF) to open an Asean Coffee Institute in Singapore by the end of this year.
The institute will train and certify baristas and offer certified coffee grader programmes, the SCA said. It will also introduce an Asean Coffee Excellence Programme, which aims to set an Asean standard for grading speciality coffee.
The institute will be a hub for countries in the region to upskill and expand the scope of jobs in the coffee industry.
This is part of the SCA's efforts to turn Singapore into a key regional trading hub for speciality coffee.
It aims to potentially double Singapore's coffee industry in coming years, which is currently worth more than $270 million.
SCA president Victor Mah, who is also president of the ACF, outlined the plans in his speech yesterday at the Singapore Speciality Coffee (Micro-Lot) Auction 2021 at Marina Bay Sands.
The auction offered speciality coffee from 15 countries that was selected by Asean coffee graders.
The guest of honour, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng, said: "Singapore is well positioned to be a global trading hub for speciality coffee in the region.
"We are fortunate to be situated between fast-growing consumer markets in the Asia-Pacific and some of the world's major coffee producing nations such as Vietnam and Indonesia.
"This makes Singapore a convenient location for agri-commodities companies which wish to participate in the global value chain through activities such as roasting, packaging, grading and certification."
Also present at the event were 21 ambassadors and high commissioners from countries including Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, Rwanda and Ukraine.
The global coffee market was valued at US$102 billion (S$138 billion) last year, with the speciality coffee sector making up almost a third of the market.
Speciality coffee is set to more than double its value to over US$80 billion by 2025.
Source: The Straits Times
Author: Syarafana Shafeeq
Original published date: 14 July, 2021
Read full article here https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/making-spore-a-key-trading-hub-for-speciality-coffee
By Heidi Ng
July 15, 2021
