Philippines' Coconut Industry and Cooperation Opportunities with Vietnam

Image of coconut nursery in Batangas province, Philippines

In fact, over the past decades, the Philippines has been an important supplier of coconut and coconut products to the global market, especially to Europe, the United States, Japan and China. Coconuts and coconut products have become a high-value commodity group in the international market and a source of revenue that contributes to boosting the Philippine economy .

According to statistics from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) - Philippine Department of Agriculture , the total coconut growing area in the Philippines is currently about 3.6 million hectares, in 83 provinces, accounting for 26% of the total agricultural land area of ​​the Philippines. The total number of coconut trees in the growing area is about 340 million, yielding an annual harvest of about 14 to 15 billion coconuts. There are about 2.8 million farmers nationwide participating in coconut growing. There are a total of 167 factories processing coconut products, however, due to lack of raw materials, annual production only reaches about 50% of capacity. The main products from coconut include coconut, young coconut meat, dried coconut fiber, coconut powder, dried coconut meat, coconut jelly, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut jam, coconut wine, fresh coconut water, condensed coconut water, coconut vinegar... and many other coconut products. The annual export value of coconut products in the Philippines reaches over 2 billion USD. And today there are about 25 million Filipinos who depend on coconut trees for their livelihood.

Working session with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA)

In order to learn, exchange information and learn experiences in management, planting, harvesting as well as production of coconut products, the delegation of the Vietnam Coconut Association led by Mr. Cao Ba Dang Khoa - General Secretary of the Association had a working trip to the Philippines from May 8 to 10, 2024, visiting and working with the Coconut Authority (PCA) - Philippine Department of Agriculture.

In addition to working sessions with the Coconut Authority – Department of Agriculture of the Philippines; the local Coconut Authority Office, the delegation also visited nurseries and coconut fields in Batangas province, Laguna province and some coconut product manufacturing facilities in Manila and other provinces.

At the Association's request, the Vietnam Trade Office in the Philippines sent staff to participate in the working session as well as some activities of the working delegation. From the information exchanged, it can be seen that the Philippines is a country with a lot of experience and strengths in growing and producing coconut products. However, the coconut growing and production industry of Vietnam also has its own strengths. Therefore, the two sides have a lot of potential to cooperate, exchange and learn from each other's experiences. In particular, although Philippine coconut products have dominated and established a foothold in the domestic and international markets, many Vietnamese coconut or coconut products also have the potential to penetrate the Philippine market. On that basis, the Vietnam Trade Office in the Philippines and the Vietnam Coconut Association have also discussed and agreed on a number of programs and goals to introduce, promote and find partners for Vietnamese coconut products in the Philippine market.

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/thi-truong-nuoc-ngoai/nganh-dua-cua-philippines-va-co-hoi-hop-tac-voi-viet-nam.html