Coconut oil exports went down by more than half in August due to lesser demand and a delayed shipment to China, data from the United Coconut Associations of the Philippine (UCAP) yesterday showed.

Falling for the second straight month, coconut oil exports slipped to 36,060 metric tons (MT) in August from 75,391 MT in the same month last year. July exports totaled 62,758 Mt, 14.4% lower than the 73,302 MT shipped in July 2007.

The sector was not able to enjoy higher coconut oil prices due to the decline. The price of coconut oil increased by 58% last month compared with last year, but the export volume fell by 52%, UCAP Executive Director Yvonne V. Agustin said.

A shipment containing 10,000 MT of coconut oil bound for China was moved back to September, Ms. Agustin also said.

Coconut oil exports account for up to 80% of the country's copra exports. It also ranks fifth in the national listing of export merchandise and first in agriculture sector.

The drop threatens the full-year export target of one million metric tons of coconut oil. Coconut oil exports from January to August totaled 597,994 MT or almost 60% of the full year target.

"We may not be able to reach the target," Ms. Agustin said. "But it depends if exports can catch up in the next four months," she added, citing that exports should reach 100,000 MT monthly in September to December.

But the country has so far exported only an average of 74,743 MT of coconut oil a month, the UCAP report showed.

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