A master plan aiming to develop coconut sap sugar will be set up in March to seize a bigger share of the $1.1 billion alternative sweetener global market.
The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) see great prospects for Filipino farmers to capture an international market for coconut sap as a healthful sugar.
“With the increasing demand, the coconut sap sugar industry presents a promising business opportunity for coco farmers and small to medium enterprises,” said Erlene Manohar, PCA project development officer.
“The increase in demand could be related to the high prevalence of diabetics and the growing interest of health enthusiasts locally and worldwide,” she added.
The two agencies will hold the First National Coconut Sap Sugar Industry Congress (NCSSIC) in March this year.
The NCSSIC will push for the establishment of a system to safeguard the coconut sap sugar industry through a product quality certification. The congress will be held on March 5 to 6, 2012 at The Marco Polo Davao.
The BAR has been funding product development with PCA for coconut under a P2-million project.
Part of the fund aids the development of coconut sap as an excellent alternative to sugar.
“We believe our farmers and entrepreneurs can create a niche in natural products whose primary value is their health quality. Coconut sap sugar is one of those products that have already taken off in the market and which still offers so much valuable growth potential,” said Dr. Nicomedes Eleazar, BAR director.
PCA Administrator Euclides Forbes said they are gathering stakeholders through the NCSSIC since the coconut sap sugar industry is on a roll.
“There are only three countries competing in the coconut sugar sap supply in the world market today. But we have competitive advantage over Thailand in volume and against Indonesia in terms of quality. We are the pioneer in this product,” he said.
The Philippines broke into the coconut sap sugar market in the United States in March 2007 after proving that coconut sap sugar has a low glycemic index (GI) at 35.
Any sugar-based product is considered low when its GI is 54 and below. This is comparably lower than the 65 to 100 GI range for sugarcane-based sugar.
This is based on a scientific study by the Philippines’ Food and Research Nutrition Institute-Department of Science and Technology and affirmed by studies in the US and Australia.
This makes coconut sap ideal as a sweetener for diabetics and health buffs in general.
Since 2009, the local industry has been exporting coconut sap sugar to Japan which took up 53.6 percent of the country’s export market and the United States, 44.4 percent.
The country also penetrated other export markets in 2010, including the Middle East, Korea, Hongkong, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.
The coconut sap sugar industry will generate more livelihood for rural farmers as the product has become an important job-generating enterprise for poverty-stricken provinces, particularly in Mindanao. [PNA]
