THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said the limited number of palm oil processing facilities in the Philippines has raised fears of cartel-like behavior in the industry.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said problems hindering the growth of palm oil need to be addressed as the industry has been neglected relative to the coconut industry.
“I suspect that there is cartelization in the oil palm industry in the Philippines because there are only so many oil processing facilities,” he said.
Processing facilities are critical for palm oil because the fruit must be refined soon after harvest.
Mr. Piñol said he will take the opportunity provided by the return of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to the DA’s control to pay more attention to the issues holding back the palm oil industry.
Separately, Mr. Piñol said he is looking into reports that copra is being smuggled into Mindanao from various Pacific islands.
“The report is that cheap copra from the south Pacific islands is brought in [General Santos City] and this affects the price of copra.” — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
