Illustrative image (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) -Exports of coconut-based products are sluggish due to challenges anddifficulties facing the coconut processing industry and coconut cultivation,according to the Agricultural Promotion Centre of the Mekong Delta province ofBen Tre.
A study by the centre found thatcoconut farmers earn on average 60-70 million VND per hectare annually, butthis could increase to 100-110 million VND if coconut is intercropped withcocoa, pomelo or shrimp farming.
The central province of Binh Dinhis the third largest coconut growing area in the country behind the Mekongprovinces of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh.
Here, coconut farmers havebenefitted from a steady rise in prices since 2015. Now dried coconuts sell for9,000-10,000 VND each while fresh coconut milk is sold for 13,000-14,000 VND atgroves.
Nguyen An Diem, a former chairmanand CEO of the Binh Dinh-headquartered firm Pisico, said in Asian countrieswith developed coconut processing industries such as Sri Lanka and thePhilippines, the trees offer high economic value because all segments of theindustry, from farming to processing, have been modernised.
Diem said coconut meat isexported from Vietnam to European countries where it is processed into icecream, milk and chocolate, the fibre is sold to Japan for making automobileseat cushions, and shell dippers can be used to make activated carbon, whichfetches millions of VND per kilogramme.
The timber is used for makinghandicraft products, he said.
Though coconut yields are high,the processing industry has not developed much, and thus Vietnam exports rawmaterials, which do not fetch high prices.
Nguyen Dang Phu, deputy head ofthe Ministry of Industry and Trade-run Research Institute for Oil and Oil Plants,said one hectare in Vietnam produces 9,863 coconuts or 1.9 tonnes of copra peryear, the highest in Asia.
But its coconut export turnoveris only worth a third to a fifth of other countries’, he said.
A coconut fetches 8,000 VND, butproducts made from it are valued at up to 40,000 VND, he said.
No investment has been made inbuilding coconut processing plants to manufacture high-value products, headded.
To enhance the value ofcoconut-based products, authorities should have policies to mobilise investmentsin plants, Diem said.
He said many enterprises want toinvest in such plants, but hesitate because of the realisation they would faceraw material shortages since coconut groves are small in size and scatteredaround the country.
More investment is required forresearch into coconut strains and processing and agricultural promotionactivities.
The Government should providefinancial support to farmers for acquiring new strains and technologies, hesaid, suggesting that coconut co-operatives must be strengthened and alliancesmust be established in the farming and processing sectors.
Brand names must be developed forVietnamese coconut and promoted, he added.-VNA
A study by the centre found thatcoconut farmers earn on average 60-70 million VND per hectare annually, butthis could increase to 100-110 million VND if coconut is intercropped withcocoa, pomelo or shrimp farming.
The central province of Binh Dinhis the third largest coconut growing area in the country behind the Mekongprovinces of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh.
Here, coconut farmers havebenefitted from a steady rise in prices since 2015. Now dried coconuts sell for9,000-10,000 VND each while fresh coconut milk is sold for 13,000-14,000 VND atgroves.
Nguyen An Diem, a former chairmanand CEO of the Binh Dinh-headquartered firm Pisico, said in Asian countrieswith developed coconut processing industries such as Sri Lanka and thePhilippines, the trees offer high economic value because all segments of theindustry, from farming to processing, have been modernised.
Diem said coconut meat isexported from Vietnam to European countries where it is processed into icecream, milk and chocolate, the fibre is sold to Japan for making automobileseat cushions, and shell dippers can be used to make activated carbon, whichfetches millions of VND per kilogramme.
The timber is used for makinghandicraft products, he said.
Though coconut yields are high,the processing industry has not developed much, and thus Vietnam exports rawmaterials, which do not fetch high prices.
Nguyen Dang Phu, deputy head ofthe Ministry of Industry and Trade-run Research Institute for Oil and Oil Plants,said one hectare in Vietnam produces 9,863 coconuts or 1.9 tonnes of copra peryear, the highest in Asia.
But its coconut export turnoveris only worth a third to a fifth of other countries’, he said.
A coconut fetches 8,000 VND, butproducts made from it are valued at up to 40,000 VND, he said.
No investment has been made inbuilding coconut processing plants to manufacture high-value products, headded.
To enhance the value ofcoconut-based products, authorities should have policies to mobilise investmentsin plants, Diem said.
He said many enterprises want toinvest in such plants, but hesitate because of the realisation they would faceraw material shortages since coconut groves are small in size and scatteredaround the country.
More investment is required forresearch into coconut strains and processing and agricultural promotionactivities.
The Government should providefinancial support to farmers for acquiring new strains and technologies, hesaid, suggesting that coconut co-operatives must be strengthened and alliancesmust be established in the farming and processing sectors.
Brand names must be developed forVietnamese coconut and promoted, he added.-VNA
VNA
