The monthly industry get together at UCAP’s Cocohouse luncheon last Tuesday, October 23, held at the Caesar’s Coffee Shop of the Makati Palace Hotel had Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Administrator Oscar G. Garin as guest speaker. He updated the members of UCAP on the status of the Brontispa coconut pest infestation in the country and the series of measures being implemented by government led by PCA to contain the spread of the pest.

       Preliminary UCAP data show Philippine export of coconut products in September this year totaled 153,170 MT in copra terms. The figure is 14.5% higher than September last year at 133,825 MT. The increase was solely credited to coconut oil which hiked lifting by a hefty 24.0% to 78,328 MT from 63,166 MT year-ago. Export of copra meal slumped 43.0% to 24,233 MT from 42,506 MT; desiccated coconut delivery fell 11.7% to 10,047 MT from 11,373 MT; and oleochemicals plunged 16.7% to 13,306 MT as copra from 15,978 MT.

       Initial UCAP figures show Europe was top destination with delivery of 37,500 MT representing 47.9% of total sales. The United States took in 30,536 MT for a market share of 39.0%. Other importers were Japan with 5,292 MT, Malaysia with 3,000 MT, and China with 2,000 MT, for respective market shares of 6.8%, 3.8% and 2.6%.

       Figures from USDA show the U.S. imported 57,779 MT of lauric oil in July this year. This is 39.7% higher than March last year total at 41,354 MT. The increment was credited to palm kernel oil which shot up by a whopping 154.7% at 30,537 MT from 11,991 MT. It accounted for 52.9% of the total lauric oil import while coconut oil shared 47.1%. Delivery of coconut oil slid by 7.2% to 27,242 MT from 29,363 MT mainly on reduced shipment from the Philippines.

       Malaysia was the month’s leading origin of lauric oil and was responsible for 30,424 MT representing 41.1% of aggregate. The volume is more than four-fold the prior year figure at 7,485 MT. Palm kernel oil constituted the bulk of purchases from Malaysia at 27,538 MT (6,491 MT last year) with coconut oil at only 2,886 MT (994 MT). The Philippines came in a far second with market share of 32.6% with 18,852 MT of coconut oil. The figure dropped by a hefty 33.5% from prior year uptake of 28,367 MT. Shipment from Indonesia at 8,503 MT, which accounted for the remaining 14.7%, grew substantially by 54.5% from prior year at 5,502 MT as volume of coconut oil leapfrogged to 5,504 MT from 2 MT. Palm kernel oil, in contrast, plunged by 45.5% to 2,999 MT from 5,500 MT.

       An appeal has been made anew to the European Commission (EC) by the soya producers and MEPs (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) to allow soya drinks to be described as “milk”. Present European legislation that dates back from 1987 allows the use of the title “milk” for products made from mammary secretion. However, since 1988, exceptions have been made for some vegetable-based drinks, namely coconut milk and almond milk.

       The RSPO Certification Scheme, which will facilitate the independent assessment and certification of oil palm growers in the future, has been finalized. RSPO, also known as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, is an international multi-stakeholder organization dedicated to bringing sustainable palm oil to the marketplace, as both a source of good for those in producing regions as well as for those consuming the end product.

       The European Commission disclosed last week that EU subsidy amount payable to farmers in 2007 will be reduced after plantings increased at more than expectation. The subsidy was given to encourage farmers grow more crops such as sugar beet, cereals and oilseeds such as rapeseed that can be used as biofuel feedstock.

       US-based Cargill and Spanish co-operative Hojiblanca, two of the world’s leading vegetable oil companies, plan to form 50:50 joint venture to source, trade and supply private label and bulk olive oil. Paul Naar, executive vice president of Cargill’s food ingredient business in Europe/Africa, said the venture marks a significant step towards worldwide leadership in the olive oil market given Hojiblanca’s expertise in sourcing olive oil and Cargill’s bottling, risk management and global reach.

       Cargill said the joint venture, which is still subject to approval from the Spanish competition authorities, will complement its existing edible oil business worldwide that has focused primarily on sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, maize and palm. At present, the company bottles olive oil at plants in Spain, Belgium and France. It also distributes to customers across Europe, Asia and the Americas.