DA seeks hike in farm-gate price of copra

A proposal to set a standard farm-gate price for copra is up for President Duterte’s approval as the price of the commodity continued to dive.

In a year-end press conference, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who also heads the board of the Philippine Coconut Authority, said they had submitted a memorandum to the Office of the President recommending the setting of the farm-gate price of copra at P26 to P30 a kilogram to help farmers cope with the global glut in palm oil supply.

As of the first week of December, the average farm-gate price of copra has gone down by almost 60 percent to P15.52 a kilo from P38.70 a year ago.

While the agency has already intervened by creating a partnership between farmer cooperatives and private oil mills to boost prices, it remains to be seen when prices will begin to pick up.

Other proposals included in the memorandum are the possible imposition of tariff in imported palm oil and other oil products that compete directly with coconut oil and increased use of coconut oil in fuel to increase demand.

The country’s coconut industry relies heavily on the sale of copra. Piñol said they were looking to diversify coconut products and explore new markets to broaden livelihood opportunities for about 3 million coconut producers.