Coco oil maker eyes new markets

published April 23, 2010 in BusinessWorld

TACLOBAN CITY -- Filipino-owned SC Global Coco Products, Inc., based in Baybay City, is plans to penetrate new markets in Asia.

Emmanuel S. Licup, SC Global’s managing director, said the firm plans to bag deals within the year to export coconut oil and related products to South Korea, Japan, and China. These three countries are "very promising markets" for the product, he added.

The company produces organic crude coconut oil; virgin coconut oil; coconut fatty acid distillate; organic flour; refined , bleached and deodorized coconut oil; cochin; copra cake and mill; as well as coconut biofuel and lubricants.

"We’ve been working on this in the past two years. I think something good is going to come out within this year. The demand [for coconut oil] is very big, especially in China. You can tell by just looking at the population," Mr. Licup said in a phone interview yesterday.

SC Global has been supplying oil to cosmetic and food industries based in Europe and the US.

"With the opening of new markets abroad, we can utilize the full capacity of the plant for export. That’s our direction this year," Mr. Licup added.

SC Global has a capacity to process 150 metric tons of copra into oil. About 70% of its output is exported.

Mr. Licup said his company has been participating in international trade fairs to gain access to more markets. The latest trade show attended by SC Global was the Natural Products Expo West/SupplyExpo held last month at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

"SC Global wants to continue to develop markets abroad. That’s why we are very active in participating in trade fairs in the US, Europe and Asia," Mr. Licup said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Licup was optimistic that the buying price of copra will continue to rise in the next few months.

"In the past two months, the price of copra has gradually increased. It’s a good sign because the increase is not abrupt. The effect on the economy would not be very risky. The prices of commodity coming from coconut will simply move slowly as well," he said.

SC Global currently buys copra at P24.20 per kilogram, P10/kg more than last year’s average price of P14/kg.

"It’s the time for the coconut this quarter. Market confidence in the quality of coconut oil is back and it is being translated to a lot of purchases," he pointed out.

Eastern Visayas has eight coconut oil mills, whose raw material needs are met by some 71.1 million coconut-bearing trees.