Trade And Market Developments Of Traditional And Emerging / Non-Traditional Coconut Products In The Philippines
The Philippines has been an exporter of coconut products. Its first major export was copra. Export trade has slowly metamorphosed in response to market requirements which saw the gradual disappearance of copra export and in lieu, the shipment of more processed products that included coconut oil, copra meal, desiccated coconut, coconut shell charcoal, activated carbon. More new products entered the market led by oleochemicals together with a host of non-traditional export products such as glycerine, alkanolamide, coconut soaps, nata de coco, coconut milk, coconut cream, virgin coconut oil, coconut water, coir products, and lately coconut sugar. Export markets also expanded from the traditional US and Europe to include countries in Asia and the Pacific. The paper delved on the metrics of the major exports as well as the top 10 non-traditional exports to show how far the products had gone in terms of trading. Previously, many importing countries were more protective, levying high import duties on various products. Lately, the Philippines have forged free trade area agreements with selected countries. Among the benefits, tariff walls were progressively eliminated and about to see extinction shortly, improving market access for products. The paper also touched on market opportunities of Philippine coconut products in FTA partner countries such as ASEAN 6, China, Korea, Australia-New Zealand, Japan, and India.