For week ending Jan. 12, 2006

       Export of desiccated coconut was estimated at a record 116,722 MT, surpassing the previous year at 106,055 MT by 10.1%. Philippine desiccated coconut made up for the shortfall in world supply as a result of substantial deficit in Sri Lankan desiccated coconut output. Copra meal export was estimated at 382,549 MT which reflected a 5.2% advance from year-ago at 364,241 MT. Oleochemicals export registered the sharpest growth in 2005 of 64.0% from 105,655 MT to 173,228 MT in copra terms. Rising petroleum oil price made oleochemicals competitive in the world market that boosted demand.

       January-September exports now run up to 1,455,385 MT copra terms. This topped by 7.4% a comparable year-ago period figure at 1,354,615 MT. Breakdown is as follows: coconut oil 766,613 (731,064), copra meal 290,210 (283,972), desiccated coconut 94,935 (73,732), oleochemicals as copra 91,762 (80,201), coco shell charcoal 19,533 (19,926), activated carbon 26,019 (24,175), glycerine 12,166 (10,778), fresh coconuts 2,446 (2,245), Others 19,097 (20,851).

       Other significant outlets were Malaysia with 8,400 MT, Korea with 8,000 MT and Japan with 7,000 MT, all of which were cochin oil save for some 4,400 MT crude coconut oil included in Malaysian total. Except for a 294 MT parcel of crude coconut oil for China, all other shipments were cochin oil distributed as follows: Russia 145 MT, Argentina 128 MT, Taiwan 100 MT, Pakistan 56 MT, Bangladesh 19 MT, Australia 18 MT, Israel 15 MT.

       Fourteen countries with volume ranging 120-436 MT together comprised 27.1% of the market. These include, in descending order, the Netherlands, Singapore, Syria, Russia, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey, Korea, Spain, Poland, France, Denmark, Slovenia and Hongkong. Another 26 countries with combined share of 8.5% at total of 967 MT took in volume ranging 11-90 MT. These were: South Africa, Chile, Sweden, Iran, Ukraine, Norway, Ireland, Hungary, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Thailand, Israel, Colombia, Mexico, Croatia, Switzerland, Lithuania, Puerto Rico, Kuwait, Estonia, Finland, Ecuador, Argentina, Indonesia, Italy and China.

       Export of copra meal in September which totaled 29,628 MT went largely to Vietnam and Korea. The former captured 56.3% of total with 16,689 MT and the latter 41.5% with 12,300 MT. Limited volume was shipped to Taiwan with 495 MT as well as Hongkong with 144 MT.

       In the same month, export of activated carbon at 2,655 MT went to 22 countries worldwide where market leaders were Japan with 598 MT (22.5%), United States with 529 MT (19.9%) and France 462 MT (17.4%). Other major importers were Germany with 158 MT, Belgium 140 MT, United Kingdom 120 MT, and Korea 103 MT for a combined market share of 19.7%. About 545 MT representing 20.5% of total shipment went to 15 countries whose uptake ranged 4-88 MT.

       The company, however, still has the local market as its primary market, which could easily take up its entire production when fully tapped. Among its local customers include small oil players like Flying V, Eastern Petroleum Corp., Seaoil Philippines. Of these players, only Flying V sells the pre-blended product directly from the pumps while the rest sell it in bottles.

       Importers of desiccated coconut in Europe are optimistic volume of desiccated coconut from Sri Lanka would recover in 2006 due to good weather experienced in 2005. However, Rotterdam trading house, Catz International believes it will still be difficult for Sri Lanka to compete with other major origin suppliers due to the relatively high world prices of coconut oil and the country’s import policy on the oil will keep raw material prices artificially high. Last year, the country suffered sharp decline in coconut output due to drought and the tsunami that struck late in December 2004.

       With effect January 02, 2006, the new tariff level on refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein in India is $421/MT, down by $24/MT from previous level. Other palm olein products had tariffs cut by $23 a ton to $420 a ton. RBD palm oil had the smallest tariff cut of $3/MT to $432/MT; crude soybean oil was down by $13/MT to $497/MT. India’s edible oil industry was unimpressed by the tariff cuts of just between $3-24/MT which were too small to have an effect on local prices.