Tarlac eyed as top producer of Ylang Ylang oil in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The government, in collaboration with the South Korean government, is positioning the province of Tarlac as a top producer of export-grade Ylang Ylang oil in the country.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (Philmech) – the farm mechanization arm of the Department of Agriculture – and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) recently signed an agreement for the deployment of 10 Ylang Ylang oil extractor machines to selected Ylang Ylang oil producing cooperatives in the province. KOICA would be providing P20 million for the project.

The agreement was signed between Philmech executive director Rex L. Bingabing and KOICA deputy resident representative Heesoo Hong.

The Ylang Ylang oil extractor machine was designed by Korean experts in collaboration with the Korean Inventions Promotion Association (KIPA), which is under the Korean Intellectual Property Office, a government agency in South Korea.

Philmech, in turn, pilot-tested the oil extractor machine in Tarlac last year and modified it to suit local conditions.

The machine can process 10 kilograms of Ylang-Ylang flowers in six to eight hours to produce 10 milliliters of oil.

“The aim is for the cooperators to produce export grade Ylang-Ylang oil which commands a high price in the export market,” Bingabing said.

Export grade Ylang-Ylang oil costs P45,000 per liter. The Ylang-Ylang grown in Anao, Tarlac is has best scent among Ylang-Ylang trees in the Philippines – essential oil produced from these delicate flowers can be exported as a raw material for perfume.