Exports of coconut products jump

The growth in the monthly volume of coconut-based exports jumped 14.5 percent year-on-year in June to reach 141,626 tons in copra terms, according to the United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP).

Preliminary figures from UCAP show that the monthly volume surpassed the previous month’s shipments of 128,033 tons by 11 percent.

“All export products but coconut oil bested their respective monthly averages,” the UCAP said in a report.

The latest figures brought the volume for the first semester of 2015 to 838,725 tons, jumping 24 percent year-on-year.

For the six months, shipments of top agricultural export coconut oil (CNO) surged by 36 percent to reach 473,739 tons.

At the same time, the volume of copra meal fell by 31 percent to 186,684 tons as did that of desiccated coconut which settled at 46,197 tons.

The contraction in the volume of oleochemicals was pegged at 24 percent with 14,155 tons and of copra at 38 percent with 132 tons.

In June alone, the UCAP said the picture was somewhat reversed as CNO and copra meal showed growth while the rest decreased in terms of volume.

“June shipments slightly topped the prior five-month (January to May) average of 139,420 tons by 1.6 percent,” the UCAP said.

June exports of CNO revved up by 20 percent to 78,695 tons. Europe was still the top destination for CNO shipments, cornering more than half or 56 percent of the volume.