A lady lawmaker has asked the House Committee on Agriculture and Food to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the status of the coconut water industry in the country.
Rep. Sharon Garin (Party-list, AAMBIS-OWA) filed House Resolution 1856 directing the committee to look into the development of what she described as an emerging industry to ascertain suitable actions to make it prosper.
In filing the resolution, Garin cited the enthusiasm expressed by President Benigno Aquino III about the popularity of coconut water or buko juice as the preferred drink of Americans when he visited the United States of America last September.
Garin also quoted Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo who proclaimed the coconut industry as the next giant employer and “business-process outsourcing”.
She said soft drinks giant Pepsi Corporation (PepsiCo), American Beverage company Vita Coco, and Fiesta Coco Equity have expressed their desire to invest and expand production and harvesting of coconut water in response to the growing demand.
“In the first half of 2011, it showed that 7.5 million liters of coconut water were exported, 6.2 million liters of which were exported to the USA. The figures indicate a 315% increase in coconut water exports from the same period in 2010,” Garin said.
Indicators also showed the huge potential of the coconut water industry in the coming years, bringing a slew of good tidings for countryside development as well as employment generation, Garin added.
Garin said although interest in the coconut water industry is peaking and demand for coconut water is exponentially growing, there is a need for the government to take stock of the status of the coconut water industry to balance supply and demand and protect the competitiveness of the products.
“There is also a need to increase the production, which means planting of more coconut trees as 44.8 million coconut trees at present are already old,” Garin said.
“The growing interest in coconut water also highlights the need to strengthen research and development and extension services to further improve the dynamism and competitiveness of the industry as the Philippines might eventually face competition from other coconut-producing countries to supply the international demand,” Garin added.
Garin also pointed out the need for the government to look into the existing quality control points and good manufacturing practices, which affect the competitiveness of the country’s product in the international market.
