Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos has ordered the country’s coconut planting programme to be doubled to 50M trees next year in a bid to accelerate the industry’s development and help it regain its position as the world’s top producer of the commodity, The Philippine Star reported.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr told The Star that Marcos had approved a budget of more than PHP7bn (US$122.5M) for next year’s tree planting programme.
“We will involve coconut farming communities to fast-track the production of planting materials,” Tiu Laurel Jr said.
Prior to the move, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) had been planning to plant 25M trees, the 20 June report said.
The ambitious planting strategy was part of a five-year programme launched in 2023 to plant 100M coconut trees by 2028, The Star wrote.
More than 8.5M trees were planted in 2024, with at least 15M more targeted for planting before the end of this year, the report said.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the replanting effort was critical for the growth of the local coconut sector as many of the 340M standing trees nationwide were already ageing or “senile,” leading to reduced yields.
The PCA’s replanting drive is set against a backdrop of rising global demand for coconut oil, driven in part by the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)’s requirements that all imported palm oil must be traced and verified as deforestation-free, according to the DA. Palm kernel oil can be substituted with coconut oil, which is not covered by the EUDR.
Global coconut oil prices were also rising due to lower copra output and surging demand for fresh coconuts as a healthy juice option, the DA added.
According to DA data, Indonesia produced 17.13M tonnes of coconuts in 2024, compared to the Philippines’ output of 14.77M tonnes.
In addition to the extra funding for the tree planting programme, the agency received a PHP1.8bn (US$31.5M) budget for its fertilisation programme next year, aimed at boosting yields of existing trees, the report said.
“The goal is to raise yields to at least 60 coconuts per tree annually through fertilisation with agricultural grade salt while we wait for the new coconut trees to mature,” Tiu Laurel Jr said.
According to the PCA, the average annual coconut yield nationwide is about 40 nuts/tree.
