DAVAO CITY, (PNA) — There are still many opportunities in the coconut industry including the European market which has an increasing demand for coco coir and other coconut by-products.
“Coco coir and its products have a huge demand in European Countries, particularly in Netherlands,” Department of Agriculture 11 director Remelyn Recoter said.
The annual demand for coir yarn in Western Europe is about 28,000 metric tons while its demand for coir rope is about 26,000 metric tons, she added.
Recoter said Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands also have high demands for coco coir, estimated at four million doormats and 150,000 square meter of coir floor coverings.
“Coir has a unique physical & technical characteristic that are highly desired in the manufacture of new industrial products for construction and engineering,” she said.
It is also in demand for the fishing industry since it is buoyant, resistant to bacteria and salt water, making it suitable as marine cordage and for use in commercial marine culture.
She said car manufacturers in the European Union, Japan and Korea need 137,000 metric tons of rubberized molded coir every year. Recoter said coconut is no longer just a source of food and drinks for the whole world.
Aside from its popularity as a source of coco sugar, virgin coconut oil and base for cosmetics, she said, coconut is also becoming popular in horticulture for mulching and soil treatment medium, soil conditioner and substrate. The coconut methyl ester and engine oil is being used locally as an alternative to diesel.
Recoter said farmers in the Davao Region should take advantage of the growing world demand for coconut considering that it remains the top producer of coconut in the whole country for the last five years from 2008 to 2012.
The Davao Region has a coconut production of 2,671,203.34 metric tons (MT) in 2008, 2,691,904.84 MT for 2009, 2,635,866.63 MT for 2010, 2,627,248.20MT for 2011 and 2,720,232.61 MT for 2012.
This is followed by Northern Mindanao with a coconut production of 1,745,949.54MT in 2011 and 1,816,601.41MT in 2012 and by Zamboanga Peninsula with coconut production of 1,557,621.30MT in 2011 and 1,730,428.16MT for 2012.
Recoter however admitted that coconut production in the region has fluctuated from 2008 to 2011 because of cyclical change and a reduction in areas harvested.
The destruction of up to six million coconut trees in the region due to Typhoon Pablo in December 2012 is also expected to affect this year’s total coconut production.