Region 8 coconut industry on road to recovery after ‘Yolanda’

TACLOBAN CITY, June 18  -- The coconut industry in Eastern Visayas (Region 8) is now on the road to recovery from massive losses caused by super typhoon “Yolanda”, which ravaged the region nearly five years ago, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) said on Monday.

PCA Regional Manager Joel Pilapil said the region harvested 1.085 billion nuts in 2017, which is 1.38 percent higher than the 1.075 billion nuts yield a year earlier. The production is still lower than the pre-Yolanda level of 2 billion nuts, the second highest in the country.

“This is an indication of recovery. We are happy to note higher output despite other destructive typhoons in the region after Yolanda,” Pilapil told the Philippine News Agency on Monday.

The better yield could be attributed to harvest from dwarf varieties of coconut trees planted in 2014 as part of the massive replanting activities after the catastrophe.

The PCA has been overseeing the replacement of typhoon-damaged trees in 98,694 hectares of farms in the provinces of Leyte, Samar, and Eastern Samar. The government exceeded its 83,211-hectare target for the region.

“One indication of recovery is the availability of seed nuts. In 2015, it’s hard to produce coconut seedlings due to shortage of seed nuts. We have to get supplies from outside the region,” Pilapil said.

Almost all coconut oil mills in the region are also back to their normal operation after closing down due to typhoon damages and lack of raw materials. 

These oil mills are SC Global Coco Products Inc. in Baybay City; Samar Coco Products in Calbayog City; Sanvic Oil Mill in San Isidro, Northern Samar; Catarman Oil Mill in San Jose, Northern Samar; Tacloban Oil Mill in Tolosa, Leyte and Visayan Oil Mill in Baybay City.

Production slump began in 2013 and continued until 2015, primarily attributed to Yolanda’s impact, which destroyed 33 million trees -- nearly half of which were totally damaged, according to PCA.

The “fragile” coconut industry after Yolanda was aggravated by another natural threat as Typhoon Ruby damaged at least 200,000 coconut trees by the end of 2014.  The number of fruit-bearing coconut trees decreased by a quarter after the two typhoons.

The highest percentage of reduction was recorded in the provinces of Leyte and Eastern Samar. In 2015, nut-bearing trees stood at 34.48 million, the lowest in decades.

According to a report by the National Economic and Development Authority, Region 8 had been one the country’s consistent top producer of coconuts, next to Davao Region from 1997 to 2011.

However, it eventually slipped to the third rank in 2012, fourth in 2013, and sixth in the last two years. Despite this, coconut remains a primary commodity in the region, comprising around 40 percent of its crop production. (SQM/PNA)