COPRA PRICES UP P24/KILO;
MILLERS BUY FROM FARMERS
By Manny Piñol
The country’s major coconut oil millers have agreed to buy direct from copra farmers at a millgate price of P24 per kilo.
Following a dialogue held at the Office of the Agriculture Secretary today, the millers have also committed to prevent the buying price from going down at that level to help coconut farmers nationwide.
The Department of Agriculture through its credit agency, the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, will extend an Easy Access Credit to organized Coconut Farmers for their working capital.
The regional offices of the DA will be tasked to assist farmersin hauling their Copra to the Oil Mills.
The direct-selling scheme for Copra Farmers was among the major agreements reached during the dialogue attended by officials of the DA and the Philippine Coconut Authority.
The dialogue, initiated by the DA, was aimed at addressing complaints by coconut farmers of very low copra prices.
Copra prices have fallen from as high as P40 per kilo a few years ago to as low as P8 in remote areas.
Since the transfer of the PCA back to the DA three months ago, measures were initiated to address the low copra prices which affect the livelihood of an estimated 4-million farmers all over the country.
The direct-selling scheme is expected to provide relief to coconut farmers until the expected increase of Copra prices by mid-2019.
(Photos by Fathma C’zerissa Sulaik and Mayette Tudlas)
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