The average price of coconut oil (CNO) continues to go down and is now on a par with the price of its competitor, palm kernel oil (PKO), according to preliminary data from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
The average price of CNO reached $1,110 per metric ton (MT) as of March 24. The price of PKO was still lower at $1,038 per MT but higher than the $1,010 recorded in January.
PCA data showed that the price of CNO was highest on March 6, at $1,200 per MT.
In February figures from PCA revealed that CNO averaged $1,119 per MT, while PKO was being sold at an average price of $1,067.50 per MT.
Earlier, the United Coconut Association of the Philippines (Ucap) said the narrowing of the gap between the prices of CNO and PKO is one of the factors behind the increase in CNO export in January.
Ucap said the country’s CNO export expanded 87 percent to 79,250 MT in January, from 42,360 MT recorded a year ago.
Last year CNO exports reached 795,297 MT, or 27 percent lower than the 1.09 million MT shipped out in 2013, and were also below the target of 850,000 MT for the year.
Ucap attributed the decline to “severe” disruption of copra supply caused by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan), coupled with the natural biological stress to coconut trees. Biological stress in coconut trees normally occurs after three consecutive years of good harvest.
CNO is used in food, cosmetics and energy-related products, and is considered as the Philippines’s, top farm export.
Currently, the country exports over 70 percent of its CNO output. Major buyers are Europe and the United States.