– Copra traders, coco mills complaining
COPRA traders, operators and owners of coconut oil mills are complaining that their business has been adversely affected by the resurgence of smuggling of both fresh young and mature coconuts into China.
This was relayed to Edge Davao by local coconut industry insiders who said that the smuggling activities have resulted in the decrease of supply of raw materials for copra meat for copra exporters and raw materials for the close to a half a dozen coconut oil mills in the area.
The smugglers are reportedly getting their supplies from coconut farmers in the districts of Calinan, Tugbok, Baguio and Marilog.
Middlemen acting on behalf of the smugglers can reportedly lure farmers to sell their produce to them because they buy coconuts at a much higher price than when they sell the same to the traditional copra traders.
Last May 2, former Bureau of Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez issued a memorandum to all customs district collectors reminding them of the provisions of Customs Memorandum Order No. 116-92 which classifies coconut seedlings and mature coconuts as controlled products which require a certificate of exemption from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) prior to exportation.
Alvarez was prompted to issue the memorandum after receiving a letter from Department of Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala on the prevalence of illegal exportation of mature coconuts.
In a memorandum to Alcala dated April 13, 2011, PCA administrator Euclides G. Forbes reported that mature coconuts were loaded at the Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Cebu Ports and illegally exported to Hainan, China.
Efforts to contact Davao Customs Collector Martiniano Bangcoy and PCA Region 11 Director Lornito Orillaneda to get their comments on the coconut smuggling failed.
The Philippines is the world’s second largest producer of coconut products, after Indonesia. Coconut products, coconut oil, copra (dried coconut), and desiccated coconut account for approximately 6.7 percent of Philippine exports.
Based on the PCA report, the coconut industry is a dominant sector of Philippine agriculture, with 3.1 million hectares devoted to coconut out of the 12 million hectares of farmlands in the country.
The coconut industry is also among the top five net foreign exchange earners with an average of US$760M annually. It is estimated that between 25 percent and 33 percent of the population is at least partly dependent on coconuts for their livelihood.
Coconut is planted in 3.278 million hectares all over the country, dominating the landscape in 86% of all provinces, with 77% of all municipalities regarding it as a major crop.
In addition, more than 60 percent of Philippine copra and coconut oil exports come from Mindanao. Most of the country’s coconut oil mills are also based in Mindanao.
