COCONUT OIL (CNO) exports surged in the first six months of the year, amid higher prices and with supply improving as farmland recovered from the impact of a prolonged dry spell.
Citing preliminary data, United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP) Executive Director Yvonne Agustin said that CNO exports hit 447,318 tons in the six months to June, up 56.03% from a year earlier.
Also, prices have improved with an average price of $1,580 per ton for the period compared with last year’s $1,295.
Ms. Agustin said in a phone interview over the weekend that the year-earlier period also provided a low base.
The CNO subsector was hit by raw material supply problems last year in the wake of a long El Niño-induced dry spell.
UCAP’s initial target for CNO exports this year was 765,000 tons.
CNO shipments totaled 726,827 tons last year, well below the 2015 total of 843,710 tons, she said.
CNO is used in the production of food, cosmetics and energy-related products.
The Philippines is the top CNO exporter with Europe and the US having the biggest demand for the product. — Janina C. Lim
