Post by Trade Coach on Mar 1, 2012 11:15:50 GMT 1
THE coconut industry closed 2011 with almost $2 billion in export receipts due to strong demand for various coconut products, an official of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) said yesterday.
PCA administrator Euclides G. Forbes said about 80 percent of the export earnings that reached $1,957,297,683 last year came from coconut oil.
Coconut oil contributed the bulk of the exports with $1,408,397,264, which is 12 percent higher than the $1,257,214,295 recorded in 2010.
The Philippines is the world’s top exporter of coconut products.
It produces coconut oil, desiccated coconut, coco shell charcoal, and activated carbon.
The United States, United Kingdom and Japan are the major markets for Philippine coconut oil.
"The value of CNO exports continued to increase because of high prices in the global market," Forbes said, noting that high prices also contributed to the slow down demand for coconut oil.
PCA data show that CNO export volume dropped 38.81 percent to 821,443.37 metric tons in 2011 from 1,342,510.99 MT in 2010.
The Philippine government expects coconut production to reach 3.4 million metric tons in copra terms this year from 3.2 million MT last year.
"Despite the decrease in our export volume, the prospects remain bright for the coconut industry with the emergence of new products like coconut sap sugar and its by-products," he added.
He also noted that the PCA has allotted P502.31 million for massive planting and replanting program, and another P336.18 million for the agency’s fertilization program.
Yvonne Agustin, executive director of the United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP), said that there has been a slowdown in orders from international clients during the fourth quarter of 2011, particularly from industrial users of coconut oil.
"Right now, the demand for CNO is still weak since most of the foreign buyers still have plenty of stocks from last year, but we expect demand to pick up in the second quarter of the year," she said.
Agustin said that supply of copra in the domestic market has started to stabilize as coconut trees recover from biological stress brought by the El Niño phenomenon in the first half of 2011 and three years of successive good production.
Last year, the industry fell short of its coconut oil export target of 900,000 MT because of the persistent tight supply of coconut in the domestic market. For 2012, the Philippines has increase its coconut oil export target to 925,000 MT this year as production of copra starts to pick up.
Source: www.malaya.com.ph/03012012/busi8.html
PCA administrator Euclides G. Forbes said about 80 percent of the export earnings that reached $1,957,297,683 last year came from coconut oil.
Coconut oil contributed the bulk of the exports with $1,408,397,264, which is 12 percent higher than the $1,257,214,295 recorded in 2010.
The Philippines is the world’s top exporter of coconut products.
It produces coconut oil, desiccated coconut, coco shell charcoal, and activated carbon.
The United States, United Kingdom and Japan are the major markets for Philippine coconut oil.
"The value of CNO exports continued to increase because of high prices in the global market," Forbes said, noting that high prices also contributed to the slow down demand for coconut oil.
PCA data show that CNO export volume dropped 38.81 percent to 821,443.37 metric tons in 2011 from 1,342,510.99 MT in 2010.
The Philippine government expects coconut production to reach 3.4 million metric tons in copra terms this year from 3.2 million MT last year.
"Despite the decrease in our export volume, the prospects remain bright for the coconut industry with the emergence of new products like coconut sap sugar and its by-products," he added.
He also noted that the PCA has allotted P502.31 million for massive planting and replanting program, and another P336.18 million for the agency’s fertilization program.
Yvonne Agustin, executive director of the United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP), said that there has been a slowdown in orders from international clients during the fourth quarter of 2011, particularly from industrial users of coconut oil.
"Right now, the demand for CNO is still weak since most of the foreign buyers still have plenty of stocks from last year, but we expect demand to pick up in the second quarter of the year," she said.
Agustin said that supply of copra in the domestic market has started to stabilize as coconut trees recover from biological stress brought by the El Niño phenomenon in the first half of 2011 and three years of successive good production.
Last year, the industry fell short of its coconut oil export target of 900,000 MT because of the persistent tight supply of coconut in the domestic market. For 2012, the Philippines has increase its coconut oil export target to 925,000 MT this year as production of copra starts to pick up.
Source: www.malaya.com.ph/03012012/busi8.html