Coconut oil exports seen to reach 1-M tons this year

MANILA, Philippines - Coconut oil exports are likely to exceed one million metric tons this year with first half results providing the momentum, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) said yesterday.

In a press conference, PCA Administrator said coconut oil exports for the first half this year increased 158 percent to 712,612 metric tons (MT) compared to last year’s figure of only 275,158.79 MT.

PCA deputy director for marketing Arturo Liquete said total coconut exports (including coconut oil, copra, copra meal, dessicated coconut, coco shell charcoal, activated carbon and coco chemicals) amounted to 1.231 million MT, a 128.11 percent increase over the 2009 coconut exports for the same period of only 539,887.17 MT.

In terms of value, total coconut exports for the first half of the year amounted to P728.737 million, a 108.81 percent increase from P348.996 million in the first half of 2009.

Liquete said that for the whole of 2010, the PCA is projecting traditioned coconut exports to reach 1.77 million MT, a 17 percent growth over the 1.51 million MT exported in 2009.

Total coconut production for this year is projected at 2.7 million MT, slightly higher than the 2.4 million MT production in 2009.

Domestic consumption for this year, Liquete said, is projected at 985,000 MT. Last year, domestic consumption was only 957,000 MT.