The country’s coconut production in 2016 likely settled at 12.59 million metric tons (MMT), 15 percent lower than the 14.81 MMT produced in 2015, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
The PCA said output declined due to the lingering effects of El Niño and the typhoons that hit major coconut-producing provinces in the country last year.
“Because we were affected by El Niño and typhoons, our production decreased by about 15 percent,” PCA Administrator Avelino Andal told reporters on the sidelines of a recent news briefing.
Andal said there are about 350 million coconut trees in the country, of which 15 percent to 20 percent, or around 52 million to 70 million, are old and produce fewer nuts.
The PCA chief said he plans to increase production by intensifying the government’s replanting program. The agency attached to the Office of the President is targeting to plant at least 20 million seedlings annually starting this year.
However, Andal said the figure is still not sufficient to replace the aging coconut trees as it takes four years for a seedling to mature.
“There are a lot of unspent budget in the PCA, so we can actually plant P600-million worth of seedlings at P30 per seedling this year,” he said.
“In 2018 we will ask for a bigger budget in order for us to plant more coconut seedlings. Our budget should not go down below P5 billion, which will allow us to plant at least 40 million seedlings per year,” Andal added.
The PCA planted only around 6 million coconut seedlings last year, 4 million short of the estimated 10 million coconut seedlings planted by the agency in 2015, according to Andal.
The PCA’s approved budget under the National Expenditure Program for 2017 is P1.42 billion, 11.81 percent higher than the P1.27 billion allocated to the agency last year.
Andal said the current yield per coconut tree is around 30 to 50 nuts a year.
“The old trees are still producing actually and studies show that the old ones will produce even more if given the proper care,” Andal said.
Early this year, the PCA has implemented a three-month ban on the cutting of coconut trees all over the country except in Basilan and Isabela City, which have been affected by coconut-scale insect infestation, or cocolisap.
Andal said the moratorium had to be imposed because Republic Act 8048, or the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995, has not been properly implemented.
Image credits: Bloomberg Photo