MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) is optimistic that the cocowater extractor and pasteurizing machine it has developed would boost the livelihood of coconut farmers over the long to medium term.
PhilMech executive director Rex L. Bingabing said the cocowater machine developed by the agency has a capacity of 2,000 nuts and could produce about 500 liters cocowater in one day.
The pasteurized cocowater has a shelf life of one month if placed immediately in a refrigerator or cooling machine.
“PhilMech is undertaking tests to extend the shelf life of newly-extracted and bottled coco water to two months, which will greatly enhance the earning potential of coconut farmers,” Bingabing said.
Under the pasteurization method, food is heated to reduce pathogenic microorganisms to extend its shelf life.
Bingabing added that the cocowater machine PhilMech developed costs around P600,000 or half the price of an imported unit. The unit could also be fabricated by domestic producers of farm machines.
“PhilMech made a ‘breakthrough’ when it was able to come up with the locally designed and fabricated cocowater extractor and pasteurizer machine that is half the price of an imported unit. There is a big market for cocowater, but only the big processors and not the coconut farmers are able to directly benefit from it,” he said.
Previously, coconut farmers have not been able to harvest cocowater because of the lack of technology to safely extract and preserve the cocowater. Likewise, the commercial units are very expensive for the farmers to afford.
The Philmech cocowater extractor and pasteurizer is more affordable for farmers and would allow them to benefit from additional income by collecting and preserving the cocowater.
The Department of Agriculture has partnered with the provincial government of Camarines Sur and Central Bicol State University of Agriculture to pilot test the commercial viability of community-level cocowater production using the machine developed by PhilMech.
The extensive study – to be carried out for a period of one year under the soon-to-commence Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) with a budget of P7.3 million – aims to come up with product and machine protocols that would serve as basis for the technology’s commercialization nationwide.
PRDP is World Bank-assisted livelihood and infrastructure initiative which would be officially launched in Cebu City next month.
The project also aims to initiate supply chain linkages between cocowater consolidators and possible small-scale processors.
Bingabing said that only 10 percent of coconut water are recovered from farms, and prolonging the shelf life of coconut water remains the biggest problem among small farmers, who find it difficult to transport newly-extracted cocowater from the mountains to the processing plants.
While the exports for coconut water is increasing, Bingabing said coconut farmers could first target local and foreign tourists as their initial market.
“In many popular places in the Philippines visited by both foreign and local tourists, there is a market potential for cocowater,” Bingabing said, adding that drinking cocowater is still preferred by many Filipinos for as long as it is available with good quality.
Unlike soft drinks, coco-water is healthier because it contains, in its natural form, essential electrolytes and minerals needed for rehydration. A briefer prepared by DA-PRDP showed the Philippines could produce huge volumes of coconut water estimated at 2.4 billion liters annually.
Data from the Philippine Coconut Authority show that the Philippines exported nearly 4.49 million liters of fresh coconut water in the first quarter of 2012, up 300 percent from 1.12 million liters a year earlier.