The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) said it would recommend the lifting of the ban on the export of mature coconuts, as this could ease oversupply and boost the price of local copra.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the PCA Governing Board, which he chairs, has approved a resolution that would request the interagency committee on Executive Order (EO) 1016 to lift the ban on mature coconut exports.
“The board approved the resolution asking the interagency committee on EO 1061 to consider lifting the ban on the export of mature coconuts,” Piñol said in a news briefing after the PCA board meeting on Thursday.
“This EO was signed by then-President Ferdinand Marcos in 1985 and this has effectively prevented the export of mature coconuts. Although there are reports of ongoing smuggling activities,” he added.
EO 1016 mandated the creation of an interagency committee which will annually update the list of prohibited products for export being implemented by the Bureau of Customs. Matured coconuts and coconut seedlings are some of the products that are not allowed for export.
Piñol said several countries, including China, have expressed interest in importing mature coconuts from the Philippines. He added that the resolution would be submitted to the interagency as soon as possible.
“[The export of mature coconuts] will relieve greatly the oversupply of copra in the market,” he said.
Piñol said he would meet the first group of interested importers from Hainan, China.
With the impending lifting of the ban on shipping mature coconuts, Piñol said traders should hike their copra buying price to “reasonable levels.”
“This will be a lesson to all of these processors. The problem actually is that our processors who are producing virgin coconut oil, desiccated coconut and coconut milk, are not supposed to base their buying prices on the price of copra,” he said.
“They are saying when they increase their buying prices then farmers would flood them with copra. The truth is that the prices of processed products are actually higher than copra. They are exploiting the situation,” he added.
The PCA board also approved a resolution asking President Duterte to direct the National Biofuels Board to increase the coco methyl ester content of biodiesel from 2 percent to 5 percent.
“This is expected to effectively absorb the huge portion of copra right now in the market which has resulted in the slump in prices,” Piñol said.
“With these developments, the prices of copra will go up and the local mills we have to contend with competition right now,” he added.
Piñol also disclosed that the PCA board approved a resolution that would allocate P300 million for the establishment of common service facilities, which would feature irradiation equipment.
The irradiation equipment would be used to sanitize coco coir for exports, which is a requirement of importing countries such as the United States, South Korea and Japan.
Piñol said coco coir is in demand in the various countries that are growing high-value crops through greenhouses. Coco coir is used as a base for greenhouses.
Prices of copra sank to P15 per kilogram from P40 per kg to P50 per kg a year ago, according to the agriculture chief.