The United Coconut Associations of the Philippine (UCAP) projects that coconut production will grow by 12.1 percent to 2.484 million metric tons (MMT).

UCAP said production for this year is expected to improve due to favorable weather in 2007.

"Moreover, the 2007 export performance during the latter part of this year appears to show coconut production has started recover from the lagged effect of the 2006 destructive typhoons that battered coconut areas in Bicol and parts of Southern Tagalog and the Visayas," said UCAP.

Meanwhile, UCAP estimate that exports for 2007 reached 1.649 MMT in copra terms, declining by 19 percent from prior year at 2.034 MMT following reduced harvest.

For 2008 export is anticipated to post a 15.9 percent recovery from prior year to 1.911 MMT copra terms with expected improved output during the year.

UCAP project that coconut oil (CNO) exports for 2008 will go up by 17 percent to 990,000 MT; dessicated coconut by 0.2 percent to 128,707 MT; and oleochemicals as copra by 25.8 percent to 111,288 MT.

Preliminary UCAP data show coconut products export in November reached 139,980 MT copra terms or 16.4 percent less than shipments made in the same period last year.

Among all coconut products, copra meal was the only gainer, with shipments growing by 13.1 percent to 30,702 MT.

For November 2007, CNO exports declined by 13.8 percent to 71,213 MT, shipments of dessicated coconut plunged by 23.1 percent to 8,723 MT, while exports of oleochemicals went down by 28.4 percent to 13,457 MT.

Cumulative exports for January to November 2007, UCAP said, may have reached 1.514 MMT or 19.2 percent lower than what was shipped out during the same period last year.

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