Higher coco oil exports seen this year

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s coconut oil exports this year could post a slight uptick from the total shipments it made last year, driven by growing demand and higher world commodity prices, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

PCA administrator and CEO Dexter Buted said the agency projects an increase in the country’s coconut oil exports this year based on industry insights, noting that demand for coconut oil continues to grow in the world market.

“(Coconut oil exports) will increase especially coconut is being used in many products. There are people introducing coconut hamburger and coconut hotdog,” he told reporters yesterday.

“The market stakeholders we talked to are positive that (coconut oil exports this year) would increase,” he added.

The average price of coconut oil in the world market in the first quarter grew by almost 10 percent year-on-year to $1,197 per metric ton from $1,093 per metric ton quotation in the same period last year, based on World Bank commodities data.

The United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP) earlier said the country’s coconut oil exports this year may dip slightly but would still remain at around one million metric tons due to lower coconut output caused by lack of rainfall.

UCAP attributed the foreseen decline in production to rainfall deficiencies in coconut-producing areas nationwide.

The country exported 1.129 million metric tons of coconut oil last year, down from the 1.252 million metric tons recorded in 2022, based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.

Buted said local coconut production usually grows between three and five percent every year. He added that the recent hike in the coconut methyl ester component of diesel to five percent alone would require one billion nuts.

The PCA is requesting an additional P2.4 billion budget from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the rollout of a fertilizer program aimed at improving the country’s average yield by 15 percent.

“Our fertilization budget is just one percent of our total budget for the entire 340 million coconut trees in the country. From P158 million, we are asking government to give us a P2.4 billion budget,” he said.

The PCA is targeting to plant 8.4 million coconut seedlings this year, bringing the total number of seedlings it planted to 10.4 million, about 10 percent of the government’s goal of planting 100 million coconut trees. The agency planted about two million coconut seedlings last year.

One of the areas that the PCA is looking at to expand coconut plantation is in Ilocos region which has less than one million trees at present compared to the over 44 million trees in Region 4-A.