Philippine Coconut Industry - Vancouver Philippines Consulate General (2024)

The Philippines is the second largest producer of coconut products in the world, next to Indonesia.¹

The Davao Region in the Philippines is the top coconut-producer which contributed 14.4% to the country’s total coconut production for the year 2018.² As such, the coconut industry is also one of the major sources of employment generation in the Philippines.³

Coconut-based products have displayed a solid global export growth brought about by the rising global demand.⁴ Major Philippine traditional coconut products include copra, copra meal, coconut oil, desiccated coconut, coconut shell charcoal, activated carbon, and oleochemicals.

There are also non-traditional coconut products like coco chemicals and coconut food and non-food products. Among the non-traditional coconut food products exported by the Philippines are fresh coconuts, grated coco meat, coco flour, nata de coco, coconut water, coconut milk powder, liquid coconut milk, macapuno, frozen coco meat, coconut chips, and coco jam.

It is not surprising, therefore, that in the Philippines, coconut is a staple ingredient and widely used in Filipino cuisine, from appetizers to the main dish to desserts. For a sample dessert recipe using coconut cream and milk, click here.

The Philippines also exports to major markets non-food coconut products, such as coco shell powder, virgin coconut oil, hydrogenated coconut oils, coco handicrafts, and coco coir.⁵

Canada’s agri-food and seafood imports from the Philippines were valued at US$148.9 million in 2018. The top three agri-food and seafood commodities imported by Canada from the Philippines include coconut oil, desiccated coconuts and bakery products.⁶

In British Columbia, coconut, as well as other Philippine products, are imported and distributed in B.C. by Corinthian Distributors, Ltd., AFOD Ltd. and Uno Foods, Inc. See Importers and Distributors of Philippine Coconut products in Canada. They are widely available in B.C. through major supermarkets, like Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Walmart, Safeway and 88 Supermarket and a number of Filipino stores across Metro Vancouver. For the list of Filipino retailers, click this link: Filipino-owned Grocery Stores in Metro Vancouver.

There are also three Filipino-Canadian businesses that have established their own coconut product processing plants in the Philippines, namely Bukobaba Essentials, Inc. (Laguna), Loobi Canada, Inc. (Davao) and Paradise Canada (Cebu), an overseas company of Paradise Fruits Corporation. For more information, please see BC-based Filipino Coconut Product Processing and Importing Businesses.

A listing of Philippine coconut exporters can be accessed through the DTI-EMB Directory of Philippine Exporters of Coconut Products.

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^{[1] Working Group-Coconut, Philippines Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture, www.ppsa-ph.org. Accessed on 26 May 2020.}
^{[2] “Coconut: Major Export Crop of Filipino Farmers” by Henrylito D. Tacio, published on 18 July 2019, www.pca.gov.ph.}
^{[3] Coconut Statistics, Philippine Coconut Authority, www.pca.gov.ph. Accessed on 22 May 2020.}
^{[4] Directory of Philippine Exporters, DTI-Export Marketing Bureau.}
^{[5] Directory of Philippine Exporters, DTI-Export Marketing Bureau.}
^{[6] Market Overview – Philippines, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, www.agr.gc.ca. Accessed on 22 June 2020.}