The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), with assistance from the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) – Berlin of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), recently attended the Oils + Fats 2017 event held in Munich to promote Philippine Coconut products to the European Union (EU).
According to PTIC – Berlin Commercial Counsellor Althea Antonio, the visit to Germany by Philippine officials included meetings with senior executives of various organizations such as Coconut Business GmbH, Dr. Georg GmbH, and the Association of Oilseed Crushing & Oil Refining Industry in Germany (OVID).
The Philippines is the number one supplier of coconut oil to Germany according to OVID. However, Philippine exporters face hurdles such as mineral oil content and EU regulations. To this end, collaborative efforts are to be undertaken by the PCA, DTI through PTIC – Berlin, and other relevant agencies in the aspect of information sharing.
Currently, the PCA is also looking into measures on how to increase the volume of exports through re-planting programs and consolidation of production by small coconut farmers to supply big volume orders from international buyers.
