PCA urges upgrade of coco products.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Christine A. Gaylican

THE PHILIPPINE Coconut Authority (PCA) will push next year for the development of new coconut-based export winners, such as virgin coconut oil and coco fiber, to cash in on growing demand in the world market.

Newly appointed PCA Administrator Evangeline Valbuena said that while the coconut industry was still a top dollar-earner, there is a need to develop new products outside traditional coco-based exports, such as coconut oil and copra.

"We want a paradigm shift and refocus on other coconut-based products that could translate into more earnings for farmers through the development of new export winners such as coir or geotextiles, biodiesel or coco methyl ester, desiccated coconut and virgin coconut oil, among others," Valbuena said.

"What we intend to do is to scrap the current category of 'coco-waste' products and reclassify these as high-yielding and job generating coco-derived industries, because when you do this, everything that can be derived from the coconut could translate into revenue and income," added Valbuena.

The coconut husk can be developed, for instance, to produce cocopeat, dust, fiber, twine, geotextile, ...