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Desiccated coconuts: large plantations have to shut down temporarily

April 6, 2020 at 12:18 PM , Der AUDITOR
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MANILA. Philippine coconut plantations are currently struggling with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some large factories have already had to close temporarily.

Massive transport problems

The corona pandemic is having a noticeable impact on the coconut market in the Philippines. As the experts from T.M. Duché report, a major problem is that public transport on the islands is virtually non-existent and workers therefore have little opportunity to get to their work places. For this reason, some of the large plantations have already had to shut down temporarily. The smaller plantations are currently continuing to work and harvest small quantities of coconuts, so that exports have not yet been completely stopped. At the moment there are hopes that the factories and plantations can be reopened after Easter. Longer-term closures would be fatal for the already very poor population of the Philippines.

Delays in delivery

Meanwhile, Davao City, the largest city in the Philippines in terms of area, has imposed a complete curfew. It is not yet known how long this will last. Some market players at least expect the measures to be eased by 14 April, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Trade experts estimate that delivery delays are likely to continue until the end of September, partly because many coconut plantation workers live in Davao City. As traders are reluctant to make offers to buy due to the massive uncertainties on the coconut market, prices for desiccated coconuts, medium or fine, have declined slightly.

Desiccated coconuts

Quality

EUR/mt

Medium, low fat, Indonesia

1,410

Fine, low fat, Indonesia

1,345

EXW Poland
Trade sources

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