President Rodrigo Duterte has backed proposed measures to address the declining prices of copra or dried coconut meat which has been hurting farmers for the past three years, Malacañang said Wednesday.
During a recent Cabinet meeting, President Duterte approved the recommendations of Philippine Coconut Authority administrator Benjamin Madrigal to raise copra’s farmgate prices, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
The measures include the full implementation of the Biofuels Act of 2006 which mandates that fuels must be blended with coco methyl ester derived from copra or dried coconut kernel.
Duterte also approved the inclusion of a bill on copra prices in his priority legislative agenda, as well as issuance of an executive order patronizing food and non-food coconut products in government projects and events.
As of Jan. 30, the average mill gate price of copra in the country was P26.64 per kilogram while the average farmgate price was P21.04, according to PCA data.
The farmgate price of copra sharply declined to P13.39 per kilogram from January to November 2019, much lower than 2018’s P33.94 per kilogram and 2017’s P54 per kilogram.
In December 2018, copra price began to increase at P16 per kilogram.
The fluctuating copra price is dictated by the global oil market dominated by palm oil and soybean oil with a share of 35 percent and 26 percent, respectively.