Coconut oil shipments up 83% in May

Shipments of coconut oil (CNO) increased in May, reversing declines the month previous as pricing advantage stoked demand for the commodity, an official of the United Coconut Association of the Philippines, Inc. (UCAP) said Thursday.

Volume of exported CNO rose at an annual rate of 83 percent to 136,985 metric tons (MT) in May  from 74,613 MT in the same month last year, UCAP executive director Yvonne Agustin said in a phone interview.

“CNO is priced lower now, so there is greater demand,” she said.

CNO price in May was lower than palm oil, its main competitor in the market, resulting in higher demand from key markets such as US and Europe picked up, said Agustin.

In May, CNO was priced at an average of $811 per MT while palm kernel oil was priced at $852 per MT. Soybean oil, meanwhile, was priced at a little over $1,000 per MT last month.

Increased shipments last month followed April's 14.2-percent year-on-year drop in the volume of CNO exports.

Demand is expected to gain further ground in the coming months, as buyers replenish stock requirements, said Agustin.

UCAP expects CNO shipments to reach 900,000 MT within the year, higher than 851,913.18 MT shipped in in 2012 and 821,445.37 MT in 2011. — BM, GMA News