International Coconut Community (ICC) in collaboration with International Trade Centre (ITC) have organized webinar on “Production, Processing and Marketing of Coconut Milk, Cream and Yogurt” on 30 November 2021 and "Coconut Water, Production, Processing and Sustainable Coconut Water Value Chain" on 10 December 2021. Panel discussion on both the topics to clarify and reinforce learning was conducted on 14th December. 60 participants from the ITC alliances countries attended the event. This panel discussion was the last of the series of collaborative events of ICC & ITC.
The discussion started with the introductory remarks by Mr. William Rodriquez, ITC, who was also the moderator. The resource speakers who participated and presented in the webinar conducted on 30 November and 10 December 2021 were: Dr. Titiek Farienti Djaafar, Researcher, Assessment Institute for Agriculture Technology, Indonesia; Dr. Chandi Yalegama, Head Coconut Processing Research Division, Coconut Research Institute, Sri Lanka; Mr. Tomas B. Medina, President and CEO of Brand Export, the Philippines; Dr. Prima Luna, Researcher, Centre for Agricultural Post Harvest Research and Development (ICAPRD), Indonesia: Mr. Krit Lajaroj, Managing Director, Tsus Febix Foodtech Co., Ltd., Thailand; and Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), India.
In the panel discussion, the resource speakers addressed the questions raised by the participants based on the two previous webinars. The major questions and topics discussed included the equipment and tools to make the products; yogurt, ice cream, coconut water processing, and the cost, the effect of alcohol on the stability of coconut milk, products can be made from fermented coconut milk, the best way to add alcohol to have a long shelf life in punches, pure coconut milk extracts suppliers, the process in producing coconut creamer for coffee, and the best coconut milk stabilizers and the shelf life of coconut water.
In her closing remarks, Dr. Jelfina C. Alouw, Executive Director, ICC, thanked all the resource speakers for their participation and sharing the knowledge and expertise with the participants. She hoped that participants have received the necessary information to identify potency and come up with the ideas to establish new coconut processing units or adapting and expanding the existing one to meet the growing demand to sustain the industry in their countries. She also emphasized on how to establish one integrated industry in one big region/ district or province to optimally use the raw materials and increase the income. Participants should also go for a high value-innovative product and target the niche market for optimal income. Securing consistent supply of raw materials to the coconut industry is crucial. It is better to provide higher quality products and services instead of competing for the lowest price. The producers need to understand the marketing platforms required by buyers and the standard requirements. To attract global consumers, it’s important to include story on their brand, such as involvement of more smallholder’s women and environmental concerns, so that the consumers would buy the products even at high prices.
There was an in-depth discussion on the topics, and the speakers addressed the queries.