Marcos wants 50 million coconut trees planted next year

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has ordered the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to double its coconut planting target next year to 50 million trees to accelerate the industry’s development and regain the country’s position as the world’s top producer of the commodity.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the President has approved an additional budget for the massive coconut tree planting program next year. Previously, the PCA was planning to plant 25 million trees.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told The STAR that Marcos approved a budget of more than P7 billion for the program next year.

This aggressive planting strategy is part of a five-year program launched in 2023 to plant 100 million coconut trees by 2028.

So far, more than 8.5 million trees have already been planted in 2024, with at least 15 million more targeted for planting before the end of the year.

“The President has allocated additional funds for this, and we will involve coconut farming communities to fast-track the production of planting materials,” Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

The Marcos administration is keen on scaling up its coconut replanting efforts as it seeks to reclaim the country’s historic position as the world’s top coconut producer, a feat it lost to Indonesia nearly 30 years ago, the DA said.

The DA noted that the replanting effort is critical for the growth of the local coconut sector as many of the 340 million standing trees nationwide are already aging or “senile,” resulting in suboptimal output.

The massive replanting drive of the PCA comes amid rising global demand for coconut oil, driven in part by the European Union’s decision to classify palm oil as environmentally unsustainable due to high indirect land use change, according to the DA.

Furthermore, global coconut oil prices are also rising due to lower copra output and surging demand for fresh coconuts as a healthful juice option, the DA added.

In 2024, Indonesia produced 17.13 million metric tons of coconuts, compared to the Philippines’ 14.77 million metric tons, the DA said.

Furthermore, the agency received a P1.8 billion budget for its fertilization program next year, aimed at boosting yields of existing trees.

“The goal is to raise yields to at least 60 coconuts per tree annually through fertilization with agricultural grade salt while we wait for the new coconut trees to mature,” said Tiu Laurel. The average annual coconut yield per tree nationwide is about 40 nuts, according to the PCA