La Union Coffee: Output, Farms and Prices in 2026

By Robin Salvador, co-founder, Caffeine Brothers
Last updated: November 10, 2026

Quick answer: La Union is a small coffee province with new momentum. PSA data show it produced 8.45 tonnes of green coffee beans in 2025 from 40 hectares and 25,405 bearing trees, with Arabica the largest share at 4.44 tonnes. That is about 10% of Ilocos Region output and well under 0.1% of the Philippine total. Output has fallen about 70% since 2010, but the province added coffee to its investment plan in 2021, set up a certified Robusta mother tree garden in Balaoan, and opened its first coffee processing facility in Bagulin in 2025.

La Union is better known for surfing in San Juan than for coffee, yet coffee grows in its upland towns and the province is trying to build a local coffee industry. This guide uses the Philippine Statistics Authority’s OpenSTAT tables for output, area, trees and farmgate prices, plus reports from the Provincial Government of La Union, the Philippine News Agency and the Philippine Information Agency. It is part of our origins series with Ilocos Sur coffee, Benguet coffee and Batangas coffee.

Where is coffee grown in La Union?

La Union sits on the west coast of northern Luzon in Region I, between Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan, with Benguet to the east. PhilAtlas gives a land area of 1,499.28 square kilometres, a 2020 population of 822,352, and 19 municipalities plus the City of San Fernando, the capital.

A July 27, 2021 article from the provincial government, citing the 2020 Provincial Agriculturist report, lists 13 coffee-growing local government units: Bacnotan, San Fernando City, San Gabriel, San Juan, Santol, Sudipen, Aringay, Bagulin, Bauang, Naguilian, Pugo, Rosario and Tubao.

How much coffee does La Union produce?

PSA reports coffee as green coffee beans, the dried and hulled seed before roasting. La Union’s total was 8.45 tonnes in 2025, down from 8.97 t in 2024 and 9.63 t in 2023. Arabica made up 52.5% of the 2025 total, Robusta 32.3% and Excelsa 15.1%, by our calculation.

Within the Ilocos Region, La Union is a distant third. Ilocos Sur produced 38.47 t in 2025, mostly Robusta, and Pangasinan 34.12 t, mostly Arabica (29.21 t). Ilocos Norte produced 1.43 t. La Union’s 8.45 t is about 10.2% of the region’s 82.47 t and about 0.024% of national output.

Has La Union coffee output grown or shrunk?

It has shrunk, mostly before 2017. PSA data show 28.19 t in 2010, 13.84 t in 2015 and 8.41 t in 2017. Since then the total has stayed in a narrow band of 8.11 t to 9.63 t. The decline hit all three types: Arabica went from 15.70 t to 4.44 t, Robusta from 8.27 t to 2.73 t and Excelsa from 4.22 t to 1.28 t.

The area and tree counts move in a strange direction. PSA shows area rising from 23 ha in 2010 to 40 ha from 2017 on, and bearing trees rising from 20,339 to 25,405, while output fell by more than two thirds. The same tree count appears for every year from 2010 to 2019 and again from 2021 to 2025, which suggests these figures are carried forward between surveys. PSA does not explain the pattern, so treat the yield figures below as rough.

On those numbers, La Union produced about 0.21 t of green coffee per hectare in 2025, against a national figure of about 0.29 t. Per bearing tree it was about 0.33 kg, against 0.42 kg nationally. Both are our calculations from PSA totals.

Why do PSA and the province report different numbers?

They measure different things, and possibly different farms. The provincial government’s 2021 article says 44 barangays in 13 towns had “a total production area of 168.09 hectares” and produced 49.281 metric tons of dried coffee beans in 2020. PSA’s 2020 figures for La Union are 40 ha and 9.18 t of green coffee beans.

Part of the output gap may be units: if the provincial figure counts dried coffee with the husk still on, it would weigh more than the hulled green beans PSA reports. The article does not define the term. The area gap is harder to explain. The province may count young and non-bearing plantings that PSA does not. The variety order also differs: the province says Robusta is the most planted, while PSA puts Arabica first by output, area and trees.

What are farmers paid for La Union coffee?

PSA’s farmgate series for La Union starts in 2025. It shows the same ₱250 per kilo for Arabica, Excelsa and Robusta green coffee beans for the year, ₱250 in January and February 2026 and ₱275 in March 2026, with no later months posted yet.

So La Union Robusta sold above the national Robusta average in 2025, while its Arabica sold a little below the national Arabica average. Identical prices for all three types are unusual and may reflect a small number of reported sales.

Farmers tell a similar story. In a February 1, 2026 Manila Times feature credited to PIA, Lapicto Bugtong of the Baguionas coffee growers in Bagulin said the group once sold beans for P30 per kilo and now gets P300 per kilo. The article does not say whether that is green coffee, cherries or roasted beans, so it is not directly comparable with PSA’s green bean price. For context on national prices, see our coffee price guide.

What is being done to grow La Union coffee?

Several projects since 2021 aim to raise output and quality:

1. July 27, 2021: the Provincial Development Council executive committee approved adding coffee to the Provincial Commodities Investment Plan under the Philippine Rural Development Project, according to the provincial government.
2. 2023: a Robusta Coffee Clonal Garden was set up with the PhilCAFE project and the Bureau of Plant Industry, per a Philippine News Agency report carried by HortiDaily on July 10, 2026.
3. July 2024: BPI recognised that clonal garden as a Certified Coffee Mother Trees site. In August 2024 a coffee planting materials nursery funded by the Agricultural Training Institute followed, to grow grafted plants from accredited scions.
4. May 29, 2025: a ₱2.9 million, 78 square metre coffee processing facility for the Baguionas Farmers and Coffee Growers Association in Barangay Libbo, Bagulin was completed, funded under RA 7171. PNA called it the first coffee processing facility of La Union. The association has 33 members farming 30.55 ha, mostly Robusta growers from the Indigenous Peoples community, and supplies cafés in San Juan.
5. June 25, 2026: a ₱1.69 million greenhouse nursery in Balaoan, funded by the Department of Agriculture and measuring 15 by 13.6 metres, was turned over for propagating cacao and coffee seedlings.

The February 2026 Manila Times feature adds that farmers’ groups are marketing under a shared “La Union Coffee” brand, with seedlings from DA, technical help from DOST and support from DTI-La Union. It says local Robusta has won awards in national competitions but does not name them, and we did not find a La Union entry in the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition results we checked. For that competition, see our PCQC guide.

Does Caffeine Brothers sell La Union coffee?

No. We do not sell La Union coffee. Our beans are Benguet Arabica (medium roast), Batangas Robusta (dark roast), Kapeng Barako made from Batangas Liberica (dark roast), and two blends. If you like the idea of Robusta from a northern Luzon town, our Batangas Robusta is the closest match we carry. Prices on November 10, 2026 from our shop:

FAQ

Sources

1. Volume of Production of Non-Food and Industrial Crops (0072E4EVCP1). Philippine Statistics Authority OpenSTAT, updated Aug 28, 2026. La Union, Region I and Philippine coffee output 2010 to 2025, via the PxWeb API
2. Area Planted/Harvested (0092E4EAHM1). PSA OpenSTAT, updated Sep 1, 2026. Coffee area by type
3. Number of Bearing Trees (0122E4EBTM1). PSA OpenSTAT, updated Aug 28, 2026. Coffee bearing trees by type
4. Farmgate Prices of Commercial Crops (0032M4AFN08). PSA OpenSTAT. Green coffee bean farmgate prices by province and month
5. La Union Profile. PhilAtlas. Land area, 2020 population, municipalities
6. PDC ExeCom approves updated Provincial Commodities Investment Plan to include coffee commodity. Provincial Government of La Union, July 27, 2021. 13 LGUs, 44 barangays, 168.09 ha, 49.281 t dried beans (2020)
7. Farmers group takes over 1st coffee processing plant of La Union. Philippine News Agency report as carried by The Philippine Herald, September 9, 2025. ₱2.9 million Bagulin facility, 33 members, 30.55 ha
8. New greenhouse nursery to boost high-value crops in La Union. HortiDaily citing PNA, July 10, 2026. Balaoan nursery, Robusta clonal garden, certified mother trees
9. Bean there, done that. The Manila Times (PIA feature) via Newswav, February 1, 2026. P30 to P300 per kilo quote, “La Union Coffee” brand

Looking for Philippine Robusta? Try our Batangas Robusta or Kapeng Barako, or browse the shop, with free grinding to whole bean, coarse, normal or fine. Cafés and offices can order 10 kg boxes through wholesale. Contact us with questions.