Monday, July 10, 2006
Declining coco area threatens C. Mindanao export potentials
COCONUT industry leaders General Santos City recently said that continued dependence on coconut lumber for construction materials could seriously affect the industry's export performance.
The resource-based sector, where semi-processed and processed coconut products are categorized, is the third biggest export earner of Central Mindanao.
Data recently released by the sector show it accounts for 19 percent of total cumulative exports valued at US$930 million from 1997-2004.
The sector is comprised of three major sub-sectors, namely: coconut products, which account for 98 percent of total resource based exports, forest products and other resource-based products.
Top export earners of the sector are crude coconut oil, which account for 92 percent of cumulative resource based exports during the period, or average annual export sales of US$60 million. Copra cake/meal/expeller pellets, on the other hand, contribute 6 percent share of total resource-based exports or an average annual sale of US$4 million.
Danilo Hamoy, resource-based sector representative and site controller head of Cargill Philippines, raised the concern of the industry as it struggles to realize its projected annual export growth target of six percent.
"The industry is concerned that this increasing dependence on coco lumber for construction purposes may result in the reduction of fruit bearing trees in the region and subsequently affect the volume of coconut production," he pointed out.
Hamoy urged the government to identify or promote other investment opportunities in the coconut industry to help address the growing dependence on coco lumber.
In the last few years, coco lumber has become a popular wood material used in building construction due to its affordability.
Also, the government imposed a log ban several years back, that drove down the supply of timber-based lumber products.
If this is left unabated, Hamoy stressed export performance of coconut-based products will lose its momentum.
Industry records show that exports have expanded at an average rate of 5.6% annually over the last several years mainly due to the stable performance of the coconut sector.
Netherlands is the top export destination of coconut-based products at 81 percent of the market, followed by the US at 11 percent and the rest distributed among Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan.
In Central Mindanao region, coconut production is mostly focused in Sarangani province, which currently accounts for over one million metric tons or 8 percent of the country's total coconut output.
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(July 10, 2006 issue)
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