developments

[Vinay Chand]

For the group's information,

 

I wonder if all of you are aware of the exciting developments underway. They amount to a revolution for coconuts and need to be given priority.

 

1    China has become a major consumer and importer of coir. In just a few years it has gone from nothing to over 165,000 tons. This makes China the largest single importer and accounts for nearly half the coir traded in the world. Imports are still rising, leading to higher prices and production in Indonesia, Philippines, India, Bangladesh etc specifically for China.

 

2    A private company, GTL, based in Hong Kong is going to invest in the next 5 years to produce 80,000 tons of coir and 160,000 tons of peat. this will make the company the single largest producer in the world. the plan is for added value and is a great expression of confidence in the demand for coconut husk products.

 

3    ADB and FAO are sponsoring a pilot study in the Solomon Islands for using the copra in the Pacific for biofuel. There are Australian investors out there willing to implement this.

 

4    The two Brazilian producers of Tetra Pak type coconut water have been purchased by coca Cola and Pepsi Cola and coconut water is the latest bandwagon with investors in a number of countries poised to triple production. FAO has published on bottled water for short shelf life and is working on longer shelf life schemes.

 

5    ITC is helping stakeholders in the Solomon Islands to formulate a sector strategy for coconuts that may include burning spare husks for biomass and oil for biofuel as well as high value products.

 

6    The demand for virgin oil shows no sign of slackening and production is set to triple in the next 5 years.

 

The above developments will shake up the industry as well as doubling nut prices for millions of farmers. Obviously, there has been a seismic shift in demand conditions for coconut products. Instead of stagnation, the industry cannot grow fast enough. The question is what can representatives do to help.

 

Vinay Chand,
230, Finchley Road,
London NW36DJ,
UK
Tel:020-77945977
Fax: 020-7431 5715
www.ruraldevelopment.info

[Hugh Harries]

Vinay

As no one has [yet] responded it seems that they do not share your enthusiasm or your optimism for the six exciting developments that are about to revolutionize the coconut industry.

Perhaps the Copenhagen climate conference has distracted  group members?

Or are they all busy designing mechanical "plucking gadgets" to win the one million rupee prize in Kerala?

It must be the prize money because whatever may be the consequence of global warming we can be sure of one thing - unless harvesting and on-farm (primary) processing can be mechanized coconut will not be able to compete on the international market.

Which brings us back to Prof Davis and his tree bicycle!

I have replaced the earlier picture with a copy of his three page article that was published by World Crops in 1961. He was concerned with research and he gave pollen collection as an example and showed a picture of male flowers shedding pollen to be used by plant breeders.

Coincidentally, almost 20 years later (1979) the same World Crops journal had an article on "Hybrid coconut seed production: a review of equipment and techniques" that was based on work done by Rothamsted AES in the UK to assist the research department of the CIB in Jamaica.

New coconut breeding techniques in Jamaica started with Roger Whitehead's use of vacuum freeze drying to stored pollen and culminated in fluid bed drying of male flowers to collect kilogram quantities of pollen in a matter of hours for commercial hybrid seed production in isolated seed gardens (mass controlled pollination / Pollinisation assistee).

Fluid bed drying on an industrial scale might have possibilities for the production  of ball copra - we can discuss more about that if anyone is interested.

But for now - reverting to mechanical methods  of climbing and harvesting -  which of the following machines might be best? One that climbs like a man, or like a monkey; or like a coconut crab; or like a snake?

And why?

Hugh

2009/12/11 Vinay Chand <vinay...@msn.com>

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[Vinay Chand]

Dear Hugh,

 

I must say I am very surprised that there has been no reaction to my posting on the current far reaching developments in the market place. You are the only one to even notice that. We are all habituated into justifying activities by saying that they are market driven but there appears to be a lack of understanding of what that means in practice.

 

Coconuts have gone through decades of stagnating markets with some marginal compensation from virgin oil and milk. Global markets for coir and oil have followed a declining trend in terms of importance. Farmers, when they could, have replaced some palms with fruit trees and other crops. For most of the farmers there was no alternative but to stick to a low yielding subsistence crop. For 30 years the advocates have suffered an uphill struggle.

 

Hence the importance of the new trend. Coconut water has taken off after 30 years of fruitless advocacy. Milk continues to grow. China has more than replaced the decline in demand for coir. Peat cannot be processed fast enough. Private investors are responding positively and hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested. There is justification in some optimism at last.

 

Coconut farmers are amongst the poorest in the world. They will now get much more for their coconuts. You would think that representatives of coconut countries and donors and international agencies would be stepping in to build on the trend. They lack vision! Without commercial viability, there is no point in dwelling on climbing equipment (I saw one by Mr Prassad in 1980s in Kerela) or varieties. A low value approach is to let the nuts fall and nature do the replanting. 

 

Vinay Chand,
230, Finchley Road,
London NW36DJ,
UK
Tel:020-77945977
Fax: 020-7431 5715
www.ruraldevelopment.info

[Mike Foale]

Dear Vinay Chand

I read your post on market opportunities with great interest, but was on holiday in Tasmania at the time it arrived and I have the opportunity to respond only now.

It is indeed encouraging to see some promising developments that might result in an increased flow of income to the coconut small-holder. Taking your items in order:

1. I was made aware of the increasing interest of China in coconut fibre while in the Philippines in 2006. Mr Edmundo Lim, a business consultant and ex-trade representative for Philippines in China has developed a good market for geo-textile forms of coconut fibre. This products is integral to the Integrated Coconut Community Centre concept of Mr Lim of which there is a  pilot scheme at Oroquieta in northern Mindanao, supported by some funding from AusAID. Whole fruit are delivered to the Centre from participating shareholders, predominantly small-holders, and the products generated include: fibre mats woven into a geo-textile form for landscape protection where there is road-building or other disturbance of the soil, and also to arrest desertification, in China; the shell is converted to charcoal. The pith from the husk has the juice mixed with it and other additives to create a potent organic fertiliser; the kernel is either dried to produce "white copra" for export to India; or the oil is extracted by a process that enables labelling as VCO. The residue from oil extraction is sold as stock feed.

 2. The Hong Kong investor that you mention will provide further stimulus to the demand for husk products. In 2006 the price paid to the small-holder for "raw" husk by fibre processors was very low but it seems likely as the market strengthens, that this will improve.

3. The biofuel scene is highly variable, depending on the market price of diesel. It is extremely valuable on a "cottage" scale in very isolated  places like Tuvalu. In Solomon Islands the more remote islands would find small-scale technology appropriate. I have reservations about the industry as a whole switching to biodiesel for export instead of oil. There is pressure to terminate the export of copra but local attempts till now to produce oil on a medium scale have been fraught with logistical problems - storage tanks, suitable presses, transport to an export location and so on.

4. Transferring the wonderful coconut juice from its natural container to a Coke bottle or a tetra-pak makes me shudder, but I have no idea how well the small-holder would fare from such developments. In Brazil I understand that production comes from large plantations where the flow of product from field to factory is straight-forward.

5. Coconut husk has been a convenient fuel for millenia. Does the ITC project envisage methane producton from husk? The Solomons production base is so fragmented that it would require great efficiencies of transport of the raw products for large-scale processing to be feasible.

6. Virgin oil is a bright spot on the horizon for a small number of producers and even a trebling in five years would not make a huge impact for the industry generally. However, increased dissemination of the encouraging health research results in "high-prestige" institutes should have a strong impact on demand for VCO and also RBD oil for frying and other edible forms in industrialised countries. The results with respect to Type 2 diabetes and obesity from the Garvan institute in Sydney should be promulgated as much as possible.

 

Post script. I have been trying to develop an edible kernel product for some years, just in the home kitchen. If the kernel is sliced out with the testa intact and diced into pieces 6mm thick and up to 30mm long, then frozen, defrosted and hot-oil-dried until light brown in colour, the product is very pleasant to taste and chew, high in protein and fibre as well as retaining its oil. When stored in a paper container it has an indefinite shelf life but leaks oil into the paper. A thin coating of chocolate keeps the oil in and adds another flavour. I would hope that this product has potential as it delivers not only the now-redeemed (in the eyes of health-conscious people) coconut oil but the other nutrients as well. It offers a means of delivering the maximum benefit of coconut kernel in a form that can be stored at least for weeks before consumption. It could be popular in-country as well as for export.

Mike Foale

phone 0409 34 24 36 and 61 7 54 35 28 92

---

From: coc...@googlegroups.com on behalf of Vinay Chand
Sent: Tue 15/12/2009 11:13 PM
To: coc...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Coconut:2920] developments

[Vinay Chand]

Dear Mike,

 

I am glad that at least you, Hugh and me are interested. I agree with all that you say. The Hong Kong based investment has assumed fair delivered prices for husks and it will be a matter of farmer groups ensuring that they get a fair piece of the action.

 

For your edible product, do have a look at something that is called 'Edible Copra' in India. A low technology edible product much loved and well rewarded. Maybe one of the members based in India could describe this product more.

[Magna Sana Consultants]

Hello Mike,

 

In your mail article below, you are suggesting to process Coconut oil to a RBD oil. Could you explain the process you envisage and why you suggest to go to a RBD level?

 

Thanks and best regards,

 

Ben

Perth, Australia

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