Duterte approves measures to address plummeting copra prices

MANILA, Philippines — Government agencies will soon prioritize the use of coconut products in their events and projects as part of the efforts to help farmers affected by the fluctuating price of copra.

The issuance of an executive order urging state agencies to patronize food and non-food coconut products was one of the proposals discussed during last Monday's Cabinet meeting, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

Other mitigation measures suggested by Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) administrator Benjie Madrigal were ensuring full compliance of the two percent coconut methyl ester (CME) blend mandated by the Biofuels Act of 2006 and inclusion of a proposed bill on CME in the president’s priority legislative agenda.

"These were approved by the president," Panelo said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Previous reports said the price of copra went up to P25.50 per kilogram at mill-gate in November from P12 to P17 per kilogram but millers continue to push for a policy raising the CME content on fuels.

Last month, the PCA said the fluctuation of domestic copra price is cyclical and is beyond the control of the government. The agency noted that the global coconut oil price on the other hand is determined by the supply and demand situation of other vegetable oils like oil palm, soybean, rapeseed, sunflower and olive oil.

While the Philippines is the biggest coconut oil exporter in the world, coconut oil is just one of the many vegetable oils produced in the world so its price is greatly affected by the price movements of other vegetable oils, PCA added.