Philippine Coconut Authority forecasts continued rise in coconut oil prices
- CNL Reporter
- May 7, 2025
- Business News
- Philippine
- 0 Comments
Coconut oil prices are expected to continue rising due to global supply challenges and increased demand, according to latest forecasts by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
After ruling out price controls and export limits, the agency was reviewing policy options with key government bodies to manage economic impacts and ensure industry stability, the 21 April report said.
“The unusual price growth in coconut oil prices in early 2025 is attributable to tightening global supply and heightened demand,” the PCA told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Increasing prices had been triggered by supplier countries prioritising domestic requirements and limiting exports, the PCA added.
Indonesia, for example, which had imposed a ban on palm oil exports in 2022 for a month, was also considering a temporary ban on coconut exports to support its domestic processing sector amid higher coconut prices, the PCA said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had also had a significant impact on the global supply of vegetable oils, as the two countries were the largest suppliers of sunflower oil worldwide, the agency added.
“The reduced availability of these major vegetable oils has pushed global buyers to seek substitutes like coconut oil … increasing the overall demand for coconut,” the PCA said.
Despite these developments, the PCA said it was not considering imposing a price ceiling on domestic cooking oil at the mill-gate level, as such a move would require government subsidies “to bridge the gap between the prevailing market price and the regulated price.”
However, the PCA said it would consider this option if the upward price trend continued “to a point of significantly impacting the operations of other critical sectors such as the food and transport industries”.
The PCA had also ruled out an executive order limiting coconut oil exports but would examine the viability and broader economic implications of a “per cent retention” policy while engaging in talks with industry stakeholders and relevant government agencies, the report said.
Under such a policy, a specific portion of coconut oil production would be retained to meet local requirements, such as for biofuel blend requirements, with the surplus available for export.
