THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has expressed concern over the rising copra and coconut prices, saying this would impact retail prices and may cause inflation to heat up.
“The Philippine coconut industry is at a critical juncture,” the PCA said during a recent industry consultation.
It added: “If not addressed urgently, the rising costs of copra and coconut oil could strain the operations of processors and ripple into widespread food inflation affecting every Filipino household.”
Data from the PCA revealed that farm-gate, millsite and retail copra prices have been rapidly increasing due to a combination of factors including robust demand for coconut oil abroad and tight local supply resulting from weather disturbances.
The farm-gate price of copra — or the price received by a farmer for selling produce at the farm level — averaged P59.01 a kilogram as of April 3 this year, surging by over 132 percent from P25.42 per kg in the same period a year ago, based on the figures from the PCA.
Meanwhile, the average millgate price, which refers to the price paid by a mill or processor for a commodity, more than doubled during the same period to P77.02 a kilo from P33.75 per kilo.
This was also higher than the monthly average millgate prices of P75.34 per kilo in March, surpassing the peak triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict in March 2022.
These translated to higher retail prices of refined, bleached and deodorized Coconut oil (RBD CNO), commonly used as cooking oil.
Current prices range from P179.2 and P185.92 a kilo at the millgate level, soaring by nearly 80 percent from last year’s P99.68 to P167.44 per kilo.
The PCA gathered major industry players from the coconut oil milling, refining, desiccating and oleochemical sectors to address the surge in prices of cooking oil and other coconut products that are used by virtually all Filipino households. (Jordeene B. Lagare © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
