Training program launched to boost PH coconut exports

JUNE 08, 2021
Zoren Bautista cracks open mature coconuts in a storage section of Bandong’s Coco Jam. Their supplier delivers them from Nagcarlan, Laguna every four days. In the 1980s when the business was booming, they had staff on night shift and around 3,000 coconuts were used per day. It is backbreaking work as staff assigned to the task use a bolo (itak) to manually crack each and every piece.  INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — A training program implemented through a national government project was launched to help local exporters boost the country’s coconut industry.

In a statement issued Sunday, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that exporters of virgin coconut oil and coconut flour in the country would undergo export marketing and market linkages training from April to December 2023, which will be attended by 55 selected exporters, national trainers, and government representatives.

The training program was funded under the national government’s project Arise Plus Philippines. It was organized by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), DTI, the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the private sector.

“Thirty selected Philippine MSMEs will receive technical support to build an export brand, prepare for business deals and develop an export marketing plan,” the DTI said.

These MSMEs will receive guidance from local and international experts in drafting their expert marketing plans. They will also be trained to participate in trade fairs, sales negotiations, and other skills related to export expansion.

“With the shared aspiration and commitment of participating MSMEs, government, and project partners to position the Philippines as a reliable exporter of high-value coconut products,” DTI Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotions Glenn Peñaranda said.

“We are confident that this training will be instrumental in achieving exporting breakthroughs for the coconut sector, and in unlocking the country’s unrealized export potential, especially in the EU,” she added.

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