Published : Friday, March 09, 2012 00:00 Article Views : 83 Written by :
James Konstantin Galvez
The Department of Agriculture (DA) urged producers of coconut sap sugar
to ensure the quality of their products to maximize its full potential
and seize a big chunk of the $1-billion export market.
In his speech during the First National Coconut Sap Sugar Congress,
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala cautioned stakeholders to be
vigilant and must not compromise the quality of their products so coco
sap sugar would not suffer the same fate as nata de coco or coconut gel.
Decades back, coconut gel's demand was great in countries like Japan
because of its supposed health benefits. But businessmen who tried to
cash in on the high demand for coconut gel failed to assure the quality
of the product, which eventually led to the collapse for the market of
the product abroad.
The DA chief also said that producers and exporters should standardize
the process of production, secure certification from reputable organic
farming certification bodies, and ensure enough production volume and
sustainability of supply.
The global market for coconut sap sugar is now about $1 billion,
dominated by Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Alcala said that
there is an increasing demand for coco sap sugar as alternative
sweetener both in the local and international markets because of its
health benefits.
Citing the 2007 test findings of the Food and Nutrition Research
Institute of the Department of Science and Technology and the DA's
Philippine Coconut Authority, Alcala said that coco sap sugar has a low
glycemic index of about 35, making it a natural and safe sweeter, which
is ideal for diabetics.
In the local market, coconut sap sugar has a viable market with more
than 8 million Filipinos diagnosed with diabetics. There is also a great
demand for coco sap sugar in international markets such as the United
States, Middle East, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, among others.
Erelyn Manohar, chairperson of the Coconut Sap Sugar Congress, said that
currently there are 36 coco sap sugar producers nationwide, mostly in
Mindanao, and the rest in Luzon and Visayas. She said that Region 10
(Northern Mindanao) has 11 producers, followed by Region 12
(Soccsksargen) with seven, while Regions 13 (Caraga) and 11 (Davao) have
five producers each.
She said that in 2011, the country had an estimated 340 million bearing
coconut trees, according to DA's Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. The
industry is only aiming to utilize 2.3 million bearing trees to produce
the targeted 210,000 kilograms of coco sap sugar.
Manohar added that this figure will be increased gradually yearly
through 2016, when production would total 17 million kilograms of coco
sap sugar, but still utilizing only a minimal portion at 0.055 percent
of the total bearing coconut trees of the country, so as not to affect
the coconut oil or copra industry.
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