Korean firms secure perks for coco deals

Two Korean companies have secured from the Board of Investments incentives for P130.8 million worth of projects, which will allow the firms to produce and export coconut products to the United States, China and South Korea.

In a statement, the BOI said Korea-owned Coco Davao Inc. was approved as a new export producer of a nontraditional export product.

Coco Davao is expected to produce coconut water concentrate at an annual capacity of 2.16 million liters and will export all of its production to the United States.

The P125-million project will be based in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, adjacent to the company’s existing desiccated coconut production plant where the main raw material (coco water) will be collected and processed into concentrate form.

Cocoplus Inc. was also approved by the BOI as a new export producer of coconut fiber and coconut peat.

The Korean firm will put up the P5.8-million project in Digos City, Davao del Sur and will have an annual capacity of 1,757 tons of coco fiber and 2,635 tons of coco peat. Total production from the facility will be exported to China and South Korea.

The operations of Coco Davao and Cocoplus, which are estimated to generate 215 jobs, are expected to contribute to the country’s increasing exports.

The government is intent on developing industries with extensive domestic value-added to support a balanced agro-industrial development.

Investments in agribusiness projects provide strong linkages to the manufacturing industry, a driver in employment generation.

According to the BOI, coconut-based products are among the sub-components comprising the agribusiness sector.

Under the Philippine Export Development Plan, the country’s core product strategies are moving up the value chain, capturing higher value processes in the global supply chain, and developing product linkages for organic, natural, “green,” and certification-enabled products.