Coco oil exports up by 59% in Nov.

Coconut oil (CNO) exports surged by more than half in November this year, according to preliminary data from the United Coconut Association of the Philippines (Ucap).

CNO shipments reached 72,880 metric tons in November 2012, 59 percent higher than the 45,734 tons shipped a year ago, according to Ucap.

CNO exports have increased for the seventh straight month, as traditional markets continued to replenish their stocks, according to Ucap executive director Yvonne Agustin.

CNO exports reached 773,284 tons from January to November 2012, up by 3 percent from 750,948 tons in the same period in 2011.

Agustin said prices of coconut oil were expected to increase in the wake of Typhoon Pablo. The typhoon caused an estimated P766.822 million worth of damage in key copra-producing areas in Mindanao.

“This will certainly affect copra production in December this year, and will continue by next year,” Agustin said.

The industry could lose about 45 million nuts or 8,623 MT of oil per year based on estimated damage, Agustin said.

Despite the damage, the industry may still meet demand from international buyers, Agustin said, noting that there was still enough supply of the commodity.

The industry target is to ship 925,000 metric tons of CNO in 2012.

In 2011, the industry fell short of its coconut oil export target of 900,000 tons because of the persistent tight supply of coconut in the domestic market. Coconut oil exports last year dropped by nearly 39 percent to 823,381 tons.—Riza T. Olchondra