European firm plans to invest in coconut water for export

MANILA, Philippines - A European company plans to invest in the Philippines for the export of coconut water.

According to the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., Martial Beck, vice president and general manager of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, was cited as saying that a group of European investors is set to start operating a company in Batangas by early 2015 to export coconut water worldwide.

“I know that there is an investment that is going to be probably made public early next year for coconut water,” he said.

The group is looking to start exporting coconut water from here amid strong demand not just in the European Union (EU), but also in other parts of the world.

This, as coconut water has health benefits.

“So this is some benefit to the farmers because they can now sell the water which would otherwise often just be thrown away if it’s not sold locally,” Beck said.

As the Philippines was granted a Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status to the EU, he said the country could attract investments in other sectors, particularly for those where tariffs are to be brought down to zero under the scheme.

The Philippines’ application for EU GSP+ status was approved by the EU Parliament during a plenary meeting on Dec. 18.

The GSP+ status allows the country to enjoy zero duty for 6,274 products entering the EU for 10 years.

Among the sectors where high tariffs would be reduced to zero are pineapple juice, garments, preserved fruits, tuna, fruit jams and jellies, and footwear.

Prior to securing GSP+ status, the Philippines was a beneficiary of the regular GSP program covering 6,209 products, with 2,442 products subject to zero duty and the rest slapped with lower tariffs.

The Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia which has been granted EU GSP+ status.