DTI sees ube, calamansi as export 'rising stars' amid coconut gains

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Philippine coconut exports have increased by 35 percent, alongside growing global demand for ube and calamansi, which it described as emerging “rising stars,” Trade Secretary Maria Cristina Roque said Sunday.

“Pineapple and banana are also strong, but we are now seeing rising stars in ube and calamansi,” Roque said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

Roque said the DTI sees the strongest potential for growth in agricultural exports, alongside semiconductors, minerals, and electronic and automotive parts.

“For the agricultural products, we really have the US market, the EU market, and also Asia, South America… and also the UK,” she said.

"In fact, Starbucks has already launched an ube drink in London, so this is good news for ube farmers and the ube industry," Roque added.

Based on DTI data, exports reached an all-time high in 2025, posting 15.4 percent annual growth, and hit their highest level since 1991 in March, with a 20.4 percent increase. In April, exports rose by 6.3 percent.

Roque said the Philippines is the world’s second-largest producer and exporter of coconut products, with new initiatives underway to further strengthen the industry.

"There is a large Thai company in the coconut industry that has started investing in the Philippines. They will open in July; their investment is huge," she said.

"They are on a 3.6-hectare site and will need 500 coconuts per day for production," the DTI chief added.

Roque also said local firm Liwayway Marketing Corporation is set to open a coconut processing plant in General Santos City to supply coconut products to markets such as China, amid rising global demand.—MCG, GMA News