Marketing copra and other coconut products

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Part of The Coconut Journal

Title: Marketing copra and other coconut products
extracted text: e 'JIJe proble111s involved in tbc marketing of copra and vari rious coconut products. MARKETING COPRA AND OTHER COCONUT PRODUCTS By R. B. Bonilla COPRA, like most Philippine products, has its problems - among them the methods of pro duction and marketing. Copra, or the dried meat of the coconut, is produced by means of arti ficial drying processes (smoked-copra) or by sun drying methods (sun drier). Smoked copra is gen erally produced in Tayabas, Laguna, Mindoro and in other neighboring provinces, while sun-dried copra is produced in the South, especially in Cebu. The total output or production annuaJly in the Philippines is approximately 828,000 tons. Of that total it is estimated that around 392,665 metric tons of copra were milJed to produce approximately 235,599 metric tons of coconut oil. Problems· of Marketing Copra is classified in the local market under four or five grades. Corriente which is the very com mon grade and considered by all copra dealers as the lowest grade: and the highest grade calJed resecada. It is generaJly estimated that the cor riente contains moisture from 14.5 to 20% or more BUYinG AGEnTS Of OIL miLLS while the resecada contains from 5 to 6% moisture. In foreign markets, copra is classified into two grades: the Merchantable Manila and the Cebu Sundried. The buying and seJJing of copra in the Philippines is carried on with great disadvantage to coconut producers. Most of the coconut planters or growers seJJ theit· products to local merchants in their respective localities. In all coconut re gions, agents, middlemen or brokers representing copra exporters in Manila and oil milJs in the Is lands handle the buying of copra from coconut planters. Inasmuch as the farmers can not obtain the best prices, due to Jack of government trading centers, they are forced to seJI their products at the best prices obtainable, which are offered by the local buyer or rural middleman. Hazards of Sales Through Middlemen Where buying agencies cannot be found, coco nut producers of copra sell their produce to rural middlemen. In this kind of transaction coconut producers are usuaJly the victims of usurious BUYIOG Q6EnTS OF EXPORTERS UniTED STATES AnD FOREIGn OIL mILLS ··�'-'· .. J•agc s6 AUGUST, 1941 practices by the rural buyers, mostly Chinese that from 15% to 25% of the selling price is deducted from the producers for every 1,000 nuts or 100 kilos. In plants where there are no middlemen or rural buyers, big producers buy all the output of the small producers at a price lower than whnt they can get from the provinci�l exporters. Gen erally, all middlemen or small merchants engaged in buying copra and other coconut products sell their produce to the nearest provincial exporters. Sometimes, they ship all their produce directly to �lanila brokers or to local manufacturers of oil. Every copra broker gets around five centavos per picul for his service. In many instances, provin cial brokers or exporters as well as wealthy pro ducers ship their produce on consignment to Manila or Cehu commission merchants or brokers after having accumulated enough stock in their bodegas or warehouses. The broker or commission merchant finally disposes of it, either to a direct exporter or to a manufacturer. According to latest statistics, the volume of copra which arrived in Manila last June, 1941, amounted to 456,428 sacks or 27,375,680 kilos and the exports from Manila, Zamboanga, Cebu and Legaspi ports amounted to 9,789 tons. The amount of copra which arrived in Manila for the month of July were 482,630 sacks or 28,957,800 kilos. The National Produce Exchange One of the highest developments in modern commerce being introduced to the Philippines for the benefit of coconut growers is the trading ex change of local commodities. It was organized under a legislative act in 1936 and called the National Produce Exchange. Thru this organized market ing agency, coconut planters are now able to sell theil· coconut products, especially copra, for a bet tel· price instead of selling their produce to middle men or local buyers at very low prices. Small coco nut growers may take advantage of this National Exchange facilities by combining their products with those of othe1· small planters and selling under a cooperative system. Cooperative associationf; among coconut growers are very indispensable at preHent because only throuKh them can planters ob tain true prices and other marketing facilities such as 8mall loans at lower rates of interest than those charged by coconut buyers or middlemen who give advance amounts on future crops, taking advantage of the planters' need of money for thei1· daily main tenance. The National Produce Exchange renders valuable service to the farmers. It gives reliable in formation regarding daily prices and conditions of the market. Agricultural products like copra can be sent to the exchange by coMignment. It receives bills of lading or warehouse receipts, sells the plant ers' crop at the best price obtainable in the market and offers many other facilities of the Exchange. Oil With respect to oil, the channels of distribution are not so complicated and difficult as those of copra. The great bulk of coconut oil produced in the Philippines goes to the United States and a very small amount remains for local consumption. In most cases, local oil manufacturers deal direct)�· with importers in the United States or thru repre sentatives here in the Philippines. During the past eight months all of the shipments of coconut oil went to the United States with the exception of eighty nine (89) tons which went to Japan and China. In marketing the coconut oil, the standard unit in pound is used on the e. i. f. basis. Those manu facturers who have no connection abroad usually sell their produce thru local brokers to exporte1·s who in turn ship it to foreign countries. Locally, the coconut oil is sold by kilo, extank or f.o.b. The small manufacturers of soap, butter, edible oil and other by-products. The oil is sold in drums or in barrels and delivered by the l'eller to the establish· ments or factories. Copra Cake Copra cake is traded similarly to oil. Factories sell their cakes direct to foreign importers by the ton c.i.f. in American and other European ports, Sometimes they sell their cakes thru local brokers to local exporters who ship the cake to foreign countries. The annual exports of copra cake amounts to 114,399,346 kilos valued at P4,250,146., but due to war conditions in Europe and in China, the pt·esent exports have declined a great deal, patti cularly the exports to Denmark, Germany, Norway, and other European countries. The United States is the only large potential market at present for Copra Cake and Meal. The Pacific Coast pricel' are from P32.50 to r::l3.50 per ton c.i.f. Dessicated Coconut Desicated Coconut is marketed directly to United States importers and the basis of transactiom is the pound. Dessicated coconut is packed in wooden boxes of different sizes as follows: (a) 18 1/2" by 18 1/2" X 23"; (b) 18 1/2" X 18 1/2" X 24" and (c) 18 1/2" x 18 1/2" x 18 1/2". �ach case weighs 130 pounds not or 74 kilos gross. The tran sactions are negotiated directly by the exporters anrl importers cable communications or thru their repre sentatives here in Manila. Sometimes foreign ships call on our ports from time to time to pick up what ever coconut products may have been accumulated. Page 87'
Date: 1941
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