‘Use your coconut’

I’d like to thank Cielito F. Habito for featuring a very interesting topic in “In search of a coconut roadmap” (10/23/18), which was about the status of our coconut industry. Being a Cocofed scholar and having inherited a parcel of land from my parents have allowed me the opportunity to further familiarize myself with the problems confronting our coconut farmers today.

The Philippines is the world’s top exporter of coconut products, particularly copra. It is exported to the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South America. However, it is sad to note that most of our coconut farmers, especially the tenants, remain poor.

This is aggravated by the dismal drop in copra prices. Last year’s price was almost P40 per kilo, now it is only P18 per kilo. While the price of copra drastically drops, the labor cost continues to increase.

Imagine, a coconut climber or gatherer earns P700 a day; this labor cost would never decrease no matter how much the copra price is. If this situation is not abated, nothing is left for the coconut farmers who also suffer from unscrupulous loan sharks.

What would now be the future of our coconut industry?

Back then, we were made to believe that coconut exports had jumped 315 percent, with coconut water becoming a popular energy drink abroad due to its natural qualities and lack of chemical preservatives.

What has happened to the more than P80 million in coco levy funds that were supposed to benefit small coconut farmers? Now, more than ever, is the time for our country’s economic managers to take a hard look at this matter. In a nutshell: Use your coconut.

ALDY B. NOVO, MAED,
Tandag City, Surigao del Sur,
[email protected]