Philippines Asks Brazil to Cut Tariffs on Coconut Products

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said its high-ranking officials met with Brazilian diplomats to discuss agricultural cooperation between the two countries.  The discussion includes, among others, the Philippines request to lower Brazil’s hefty tariffs on Philippine coconut and coconut-related products to boost “competitiveness” in the Brazilian market.

“Desiccated coconut, coconut water and concentrates, virgin coconut oil, and fractions of unrefined coconut oil are among the top 10 Philippine exports to Brazil,” the DA said in a recent statement. 

The value of Philippines export of coconut products to Brazil last year declined by 30% year-on-year to USD5.041million.  Volume-wise, shipments of coconut products to Brazil slumped 46.3% to 2.224 million kilo- grams from 4.14 million kilograms in 2020, based on Philippine Statistics Authority data.