Coconut oil exports down 39%

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine coconut oil (CNO) exports dropped by more than a third in 2011 from 2010 on low supply of raw materials and high prices, according to the United Coconut Associations of the Philippines (UCAP).

Industry data showed that CNO shipments for 2011 reached only 819,081 metric tons from 1.34 million metric tons in 2010. The Philippines’ target for CNO exports was 900,000 metric tons for 2011.

In December 2011 alone, shipments reached 70,200 metric tons.

The US and Europe were still the top markets for CNO.

UCAP executive director Yvonne Agustin said in a phone interview that production dropped as trees suffered from delayed effects of drought. Trees also suffered from stress due to high production in the past three years (2008-2010).

To make matters worse for Philippine exporters of CNO, palm oil is currently much cheaper, moving some industrial clients to shift to the alternative product.

Agustin said UCAP has not set a target for 2012 and it was still finalizing export figures, as of Tuesday. An initial forecast might be available by next week, she said.

Philippine Coconut Authority administrator Euclides Forbes has also said that demand for CNO declined in 2011 as buyers shifted to the less costly palm oil.

The Philippines, which ships out about 80 percent of its production, is the world’s biggest exporter of coconut oil.

Raw coconut oil is used in food and for extracting oleochemicals. Chemicals from CNO, meanwhile, are used in a wide range of products from soap to biodiesel.