COTABATO-BASED Treelife, a maker of organic goods, sees big potential in expanding virgin coconut oil (VCO) production — but it will have to wait until after the coronavirus crisis.

“When we heard of the study of VCO having the potential to lessen the risk of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), we were hopeful, but as the study was still in its early stages, we as a company continued operations as per usual,” Rochella Marie Taray, marketing and export manager of TreeLife, said in an e-mail interview.

The “usual” operations meant supplying to “current clients who have been with us even before COVID-19 started,” she said.

Treelife, which started exporting VCO in 2017, ships most of its output to Europe.

“We have an agreement with our buyers that we can’t reveal who they are, but our main export market is Europe,” Ms. Taray said.

“There has been a 20% increase (in the second quarter this year) compared to the first quarter,” she said.

The company started selling to the Philippine market this year after finally receiving certification from the Food and Drug Administration in December.

Ms. Taray said there has also been an increase in domestic demand with the Department of Science and Technology’s announcement that the use of VCO has shown positive results in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 patients with mild symptoms.

“Potentially, there is a large opportunity (for even more demand),” she said, but expanding production to meet that demand during the outbreak is difficult.

She said with continued border restrictions and numerous quarantine protocols, it is difficult to hire people and move goods.

The company, which has various international certifications for its organic and fair trade operations, currently works with and employs more than 800 farmers and residents.

Treelife processes up to 40,000 coconuts per day to make VCO, which accounts for 50% of Treelife’s revenue stream.

Ms. Taray said while the company is planning to expand VCO production, it is also looking into other opportunities such as intercropping cardava banana in the coconut farms.

Treelife makes banana chips apart from various coconut-based products. — Maya M. Padillo

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