Copra And Coconut Oil Trading In The Philippines : Trading System, Pricing & Logistics
The Philippines with over 7,100 islands will always be a challenge not only for people who want to do business there, but including government’s effort to fill the needs of its citizenry scattered thru out the islands. After the war in 1945, major infrastructures were destroyed, road system and networks were dilapidated or non-existent and the country had to be rebuilt all over again. It is said that Manila is the most heavily damaged cities during the war, after Tokyo.
It was within this framework that the copra and coconut oil trading in the Philippines grew from a “mere” major copra exporting country before the war, to a major coconut oil exporter from the early 60’s and 70’s and onwards, when the rehabilitation of the infrastructure system took place and investments were made towards the value adding of copra.
Hopefully, this paper will be able to show the various stages of growth, the nuances that went with it and how it adopted into the trading system and practices. The basic framework however remained the same.
And, as the world all of a sudden became so reachable with the advent of fast, reliable and instant communications, its impact to all the people in farming, traders/dealers, and manufacturers is nothing but beneficial.