The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is upbeat that an exhibit of innovative products from coconut will encourage other farmers to produce more than copra.

PCA Eastern Visayas Regional Manager Joel Pilapil admitted that copra remains the primary product from coconut in the region.

“Copra has an unstable price in the market, which makes it hard for coconut farmers to earn and improve their living conditions. We hope that through this activity, coconut farmers will have an idea that they can produce more than just copra from coconut, considered the tree of life,” Pilapil said in an interview Wednesday.

The movement of copra prices has been affecting 367,234 coconut farmers in the Eastern Visayas region. Copra is the dried meat or kernel of the coconut.

As of first week of July 2024, the average farmgate price of copra per kilogram in the region is PHP24.27.

Premium oil is extracted from copra. It also yields coconut cake after oil extraction, which is mainly used as feed for livestock.

The PCA has no available data on the current copra production in the region.

Among the coconut-based products showcased during the Coconut Creations: A Coconut Taste and Crafts Showcase in Region 8 are tuba bahalina (fermented wine from coconut), coco vinegar, virgin coconut oil, and coco sugar.

“These are marketable products and have a better price in the market,” Pilapil said.

At least 22 exhibitors joined the exhibit at the People’s Center here on Aug. 27 to 28. Their products have been developed with assistance from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Pilapil said that in order to catch a wider market for coconut-based products, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is helping them promote the industry by introducing them to local and foreign guests.

DOT Eastern Visayas Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes shared that during visits of expedition cruise ships in the region, coconut is one of the products they promote to foreign visitors.

In Capul Island, Northern Samar, locals demonstrated to the guests how to plant, harvest, and the various uses of the coconut, as well as cooking various dishes mixed with coconut.

“Let us look at the coconut with fresh eyes, see it not just as a product but as a source of inspiration. A testament to what we can achieve when we unite our efforts across different sectors,” Tiopes said in a separate interview.

Pilapil said that currently, the region is harvesting more than 1.7 billion nuts every year, but this is still way lower than the more than 2 billion nut harvest before Super Typhoon Yolanda struck the region in 2013.

Eastern Visayas is in the 5th rank among the coconut-producing regions in the country. An estimated 65,601,699 coconut trees are planted in the region. (PNA)