MANILA, Philippines - Coconut oil exports fell 32.5 percent in September due to the low supply of copra and weak demand from traditional customers, the United Coconut Associations of the Philippines (UCAP) said yesterday.
Coconut oil exports reached 76, 582 metric tons (MT) in September, down from 113, 492 MT in the same month last year. This was also below the industry’s monthly shipment average of 80,000 MT.
“Raw materials were not easily available during the period. Also, many of our buyers placed small orders since they know of our situation when it comes to the supply of copra,” UCAP executive director Yvonne Agustin said.
For the first nine months, total coconut oil exports declined 3.7 percent to 638,804 MT. During this period, the average world market prices of coconut oil and its primary competitor palm kernel oil had a wide gap, causing buyers to shift to the cheaper alternative.
Price of coconut oil averaged $1, 046 per MT compared to only $789 per MT for palm kernel oil.
Despite the prevailing dry spell, Agustin said she is confident the domestic coconut industry would achieve this year’s export target of 804,000 MT as coconut trees are resilient to climate stress.
She said coconut trees could withstand minimal rainfall for four straight months.