PCA’s Billy dela Rosa says on copra prices
The administrator of the Philippine Coconut Authority clarified on Friday that depressed prices of copra in the Davao region is attributed mainly to the behavior of oil prices worldwide and local traders are not to blame.
“Copra prices rise and fall with how palm and soy bean oils behave,” said PCA administrator Romulo “Billy” dela Rosa. “Our copra prices merely mirror the international oil prices.”
He said that while Philippine coconut oil comprises 60% of all coco-oil traded worldwide, it represents only 2% of all veggie oils. The market is dominated by palm oil (produced by Indonesia and Malaysia) and soy bean oil produced by the United States and Europe.
As of August 31,2018, the price of palm oil stood at $544/metric ton while soy bean was pegged at $533.93/metric ton. Coconut oil rated $1,500/metric ton.
“And since either of the three could be substituted with each other, the market would always prefer the cheaper one,” he said.
He said that to alleviate the plight of coconut growers, the PCA is looking towards a long-term strategy of dissuading them away from over-dependence on copra as their main product.
He said on top of the agenda is to diversify production with the help of integrated plants that would produce at least five products from the coconut.
The integrated plants, he said, can produce coconut water, desiccated coconut, milk, flour and virgin oil.
“With these products in mind, integrated plants will be constrained to buy at definitely much higher prices from coconut growers,” he said.
He said the other way out for the industry is by downstream processing with an eye to producing bio-diesel from coconuts for the transportation industry.
“This will also help stabilize the prices of coco oil,” he said, adding that farmers will stand to earn more as a result.
Dela Rosa has called on coconut farmers to register with the PCA in their respective provinces to take advantage of the impending down-rolling of the coconut levy funds in addition to the P10Billion appropriated annually by Congress.
Under the newly-reconstituted PCA, the amount of P5Billion annually will be appropriated to coconut growers and their associations.
The coconut levy trust fund will be used as follows: shared facilities,30%; scholarship program, 15%; empowerment of coconut farmers organizations and their cooperatives; 15% farm improvement to encourage self-suffiency, 30% and health and medical program,10%.
