Happy New Year dear colleagues, farmers, and other coconut stakeholders. Wishing you a healthy and prosperous new year.
As we transition into the "new normal" era after experiencing a long pandemic, rapid adaptation and innovation are needed in doing business. In line with the “new normal” and to provide more effective and efficient work, most of the information our member countries need is available digitally. These publications are an invaluable reference source for governments, the private sector, producers, processors, experts, importers, and other relevant stakeholders. Besides, the digital information has a wider reach and cost-effective publishing and the updating is possible even after the book has been published.
The ICC Secretariat regularly publishes six types of publications. The first publication published biannually since 1970 is the proceeding of the COCOTECH Conference. We have upgraded this proceeding, indexed globally by highly reputed publisher since the year of 2023 to reach the global community and increase the credibility of published works. The second publication is the Coconut Research and Development Journal or CORD Journal. This journal has been published since 1985 and has also been indexed in the Google Scholar, Science and Technology Index (SINTA), and Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) since 2021. The COCOMMUNITY is a monthly newsletter published since 1971. ICC also publishes an annual coconut statistical yearbook to provide important information about the trends of coconut area development, production, export, and import of coconut and its products from ICC member countries and other coconut-producing countries. Other publications are the semi-annual, scientific and semi-technical magazine COCOINFO and Directory of Coconut Traders and Equipment Manufacturers published since 1994 and 1995 respectively. A new publication called the Quarterly Bulletin features essential data, charts, tables, and compelling infographics from various coconut and coconut products. In this dynamic fast-paced volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous era, the coconut stakeholders will be of benefit from the Quarterly Bulletin to comprehend supply, demand, market trends, market outlook, and opportunities of coconut and its derivatives from upstream to downstream value chains, and ultimately come up with precise decision-making, problem-solving, and policy.
The current global economic situation should trigger more creativity and innovation. The coconut production system should be transformed to be more efficient, more sustainable, and more resilient. The conventional propagation of coconuts to meet global market demand for desired coconut planting materials and coconut products must be synergized with a novel micropropagation or tissue culture technology. Coconut seeds are recalcitrant or not resistant to drying or freezing and do not show dormancy, which make coconut seeds unable to be stored for a long time using conventional techniques. It is recommended to plant coconut in the field or cryopreserved the pollen, zygotic and somatic embryos for future needs.
Business model and practices need a restructuring and adaptation to consumer behavior and preference in this new normal era. The creative coconut industries must promote innovations and contribute to the welfare of farmers and society. Coconut product diversification, high-value-added products and digital marketing are becoming increasingly important to sustain the coconut business. ICC has committed and will continue to provide technical assistance and feasible option for development through multi-sectoral collaborations with governments, private sector and national/international organizations in a more efficient and coherent manner to help our members remain productive, creative, sustainable and resilient in the current global economic situation.