Coconut oil exports fall 73,000 MT short of 2012 target

Despite the volume of coconut oil shipments' rising 3.7 percent year-on-year to 851,913 metric tons (MT) last year, the total still fell short of the industry's shipment target for 2012. Data from the United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP) shows that 2012's volume was an improvement over the 821,433 MT shipped in 2011. However, the industry had set a goal of 925,000 MT for 2012. But recovering international demand buoyed shipments in December 2012 to a 5.96-percent improvement from the same month the year before—from 70,495 MT to 74,694 MT. UCAP has yet to set its export target for 2013, but is optimistic that demand for coconut oil will continue to grow in key markets such as the United States and Europe, which purchase about 80 percent of the Philippines' coconut oil exports. The year-on-year growth in exports was attributed to the shift in demand to coconut oil from palm kernel oil, as the price difference between the two products narrowed. In December, coconut oil fetched $772 per MT on the world market, while palm kernel oil went for $750 per MT on average. Typhoon Pablo did not greatly affect the volume of exports, thanks to the coconut oil buffer stock. — BM, GMA News