PCA: Typhoons damage 43T hectares of coconut

At least 43,000 hectares of coconut land in the Philippines were damaged by the three typhoons in the recent past, which translated to about P600 million in loses to the country's coconut industry.

The Philippine Coconut Authority made this report lately, adding that the damage would even affect harvests within the next two years.

The situation resulted in the declaration of two agricultural financing institutions to impose a one-year moratorium on loan payments from borrowers whose crops and properties were damaged by the typhoons.

Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corporation, and the National Livelihood Support Fund have agreed to support the micro-financing windows available to the calamity-stricken coconut farmers by opening to them emergency loans now.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, for his part, ordered the immediate distribution of decorticating machines in the typhoon-hit areas to enable farmers there to collect coco fiber materials and made these into coco coir, which is in high demand in the global market.

This move was meant to overturn the damage of coconut crops into making exportable products from coconut materials, and provide a new source of income to the farmers.

PCA administrator Oscar Garin revealed that the country's export earnings from coconut products for the first half of 2006 stood at $ 457.57 million.

The over-all volume of coconut products exported increased by 17 percent, although a 15.88 percent price drop in coconut oil offset this.

Garin said that the 21.56 percent increase in volume of coconut oil exported translated only to 2.25 percent increase in foreign receipts.

This year's export earnings from coconut oil totaled $311.64 million compared to $304.78 million for the same period in 2005.

Garin bared also that desiccated coconut, which is second most important coconut product next to coconut oil, experienced slight decreases of 5.57 percent in volume exported and 1.97 in earnings.

The administrator likewise revealed that coconut chemicals experienced decreases of 4.57 in export volume and 7.67 percent in export receipts, or for the total of $25.98 million.

For export earnings of other coconut products, copra meal registered $11.38 million, coconut shell charcoal registered $3 million while all other by-products raked in $22.86 million. - Ferliza C. Contratista