Manila sees coconut oil exports down 30%
Posted online: Saturday, February 17, 2007 at 0000 hours IST
MANILA, FEB 16: Exports of coconut oil from the Philippines, the
world's largest shipper, are likely to fall 30% this year due to damage
caused by typhoons and increased local demand for biodiesel, the
government said on Friday.
The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the state regulator, said it
expected this year's exports of the oil used in foodstuffs, cosmetics
and biodiesel to fall to 7,50,000 tonne from last year's 1.07 million
tonne. The government estimate was in line with the forecast of the
United Coconut Associations of the Philippines Inc. (UCAP).
"We can't recover within two to three years without fertilisation,"
Garin said, adding that the government plans to initially pump
fertilisers to 2,00,000 hectares of coconut farms. Coconut oil exports
fell 7% last year from 1.15 million tonne in 2005.
—Reuters
Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business4_feb17_2007
Lower coco oil exports
Coconut oil exports, the country's top dollar earner, are projected to
drop 30 percent to 750,000 metric tons this year from 1.07 million mt in
2006 due to meager copra production from typhoon-devastated areas.
Data released by the Philippine Coconut Authority showed copra
production in 2006 contracted 17 percent to 2.14 million mt from 2.6
million mt a year earlier.
Copra is dried coconut meat from where coconut oil is extracted.
"We were actually aiming for a 2.5 million mt production for 2006. The
ageing stock of coconut trees, coupled with typhoon damages, further
reduced production by at least 360,000 mt," PCA administrator Oscar
Garin told reporters yesterday.
Garin said the 2006 goal was lower by 100,000 mt due to foreseen
reduction in output brought about by a slack in the implementation of
the coconut fertilization program.
About 300,000 hectares of farmlands dedicated to coconut were damaged
during the typhoon months last year, of which about 200,000 ha were
severely hit.
The agency has a standing petition for P300-million assistance from the
Coconut Industry Investment Fund for the immediate rehabilitation of
typhoon-damaged coconut farms in Bicol and Eastern Samar, but only P100
million was approved.
Othel V. Campos
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