Virgin coconut oil exports double in first quarter of 2012

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is living up to its promise of becoming a premium export product as its overseas sales more than doubled in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) said.

Administrator Euclides G. Forbes of the PCA said that export earnings from VCO grew by 138.65 percent, from $3.17 million to $7.56 million in the first three months of this year.  The first quarter volume also increased by  93.58 percent, from last year’s 888.11 metric tons (MT) to 1,719.23 MT.

Philippine coconut oil is exported to 27 countries in Asia, Europe and the United States, with France registering the highest increase in value, Forbes said.  VCO export earnings from France grew by a whopping 1,011.76 percent to $76,000 this last quarter, compared to last year’s figures of  $6,836.

Forbes cited increased awareness of VCO’s health benefits for the surge in overseas sales. A study by a team of doctors and scientists at the University of Sto. Tomas recently showed that taking virgin coconut oil had beneficial effects on one’s cholesterol levels.

Released in February this year, the four-month study commissioned by the PCA indicated that subjects taking VCO showed elevated high density lipoprotein, or good cholesterol. The subjects’ triglycerides and very low density lipoprotein, considered bad cholesterol, also decreased. No change was seen in low density lipoprotein.

Virgin coconut oil is obtained from fresh and mature kernels of the coconut by mechanical or natural means, with or without the use of heat, and is suitable for consumption without further processing. Kristine L. Alave