ANGELES CITY- Coconut farmers have joined the growing ranks of Filipinos seriously affected by inflation, as they reported yesterday that the buying prices of copra and coconut nationwide have plunged by almost 82 percent since last month.
This, even as the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) also reported that the prices of rice have further gone up in some areas.
“Rice prices have reached an all-time high in Bohol at P54 per kilo, P56 per kilo in Agusan and Surigao provinces and P70 to P80 per kilo in Zamboanga provinces,” it said in a statement.
“Coconut farmers are demanding the government to address the very low buying prices of copra and coconut across the country. Copra prices nationwide slumped by almost 82 percent since last month and the rising prices of rice, transportation and food are hurting small coconut farmers even more,” said the KMP and the claimants group Coco Levy Fund Ibalik sa Amin in a statement yesterday.
The two groups noted that “current average farm-gate prices published by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is at P20.89 a kilo but prevailing copra prices are pegged at P14 to P18 per kilo compared to P38 per kilo of copra in the same period last year. Actual current copra prices are even lower in many areas.”
They said during a recent national consultation of small coconut farmers, “it was revealed that the July prices of copra in Quezon province nosedived to as low as P4 per kilo. Other provinces also registered low copra prices ranging from P14, P16 and P18 in Eastern Visayas, Bicol and Caraga regions, respectively.”
“The very low prices of copra are made even worse by ‘resicada’ and ‘resiko’ or moisture content weight deducted by traders from copra. Resicada deduction ranges from one to two kilos per sack of copra,” the statement said.
“Prices of whole coconut are even more miserable with negligible prices ranging from P1 to P8 per whole nut. How can small coconut farmers survive when their products are bought by traders and local buyers at almost complimentary prices,” said Antonio Flores, secretary general of KMP.
“While the government boasts of the approved Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Fund, coconut farmers shoulder all the burden and hardship,” Flores added.
He cited reports that in Aurora province, coconuts produced by farmers are bought for P8 per large piece, P4 a piece for small and P2 for rejected nuts, while young coconuts are bought at lesser price through exploitative pricing schemes like the “tres-dos” and “palyo or milma” practiced by traders. In Sierra Madre areas, coconuts are bought at P1 per piece.
In coco-producing areas in Laguna, coconuts are bought at P2 to P6 per piece, while In Northern Mindanao region, coconuts are also bought at P4 per piece, he also said.
KMP chairperson emeritus Rafael Mariano said that “small coconut farmers are demanding the government to address the very low copra and coconut prices. Wala nang kinikita ang mga magniniyog, lugi pa sila. They also bear the burden of increasing rice and food prices as well as the damaging effects of TRAIN Law on the people’s livelihood.”
He said “coconut farmers want a pro-farmer and pro-people coconut farmer and industry development program. Instead of privatizing the entire P100-billion coco levy fund and coco levy-funded assets, the government should address concrete issues of coconut farmers including landlessness, massive cutting of coconut trees due to land-use conversion, lacking government support to coconut farmers and low coconut productivity.”
