HAINAN SHOWS INTEREST
TO BUY WHOLE COCONUTS
By Manny Piñol
The Province of Hainan of the People’s Republic of China yesterday expressed interest in buying coconuts should the Philippine government lift the ban on the export of the unprocessed mature nuts.
A six-person delegation led by Xu Jun, Vice Chairman of the Hainan People’s Congress, yesterday called on the Philippine Agriculture Secretary to signify the intent of the province to buy whole nuts.
He said that the processing plants in Hainan which produce sweetened coconut milk are buying 200-million nuts from Vietnam, Thailand, India and other countries.
The Philippines, however, does not allow the export of whole coconuts because of Executive Order 1016 Issued by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1985.
Ranked third in the world as the biggest coconut producing country, the Philippines is the largest exporter of coconut products.
A recent slump in the prices of Copra, the main product of the Philippine Coconut Industry, and the current market demand for unprocessed green coconut prompted the Governing Board of the Philippine Coconut Authority to propose the lifting of the ban on exports.
During my dialogue with the members of the Hainan delegation brought to my office by PCA Administrator Romulo dela Rosa I proposed the formation of a technical working group composed of representatives of Hainan Province and the PCA to work on the details of the proposed procurement program.
Initially, I informed the Hainan group that the government is looking for programs which would benefit the country’s coconut farmers.
A good price offered for whole coconuts could heighten the interest to work on the lifting of the export ban.
(Photos of the call by the Hainan Province delegation on the Agriculture Secretary were taken by Mayette Tudlas, DA OSEC.)
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