Port congestion shrinks VCO sales

MANILA, Philippines - Leyte-based coconut processor and products manufacturer SC Global is feeling the pinch of shrinking sales due to the congestion at the Port of Manila.

Emmanuel “Manny” Licup, managing director of SC Global Coco Products Inc., said  the company has seen a slump in demand for its  virgin coconut oil products especially in the past four months with the departure of foreign clients because of delivery delays caused by port congestion. 

Licup said its international customers had started buying VCO from neighboring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

“We hope we can prevent the recurrence of such port congestion,” Licup told Department of Science and Technology (DOST) officials led by Secretary Mario Montejo who visited the SC Global manufacturing plant to see the progress of the company’s manufacturing operations in Baybay City.

The DOST assists in the assessment of product quality standards for the international market.

During the crisis, Licup said coconut processors were not able to get their packaging materials from abroad while they were also prevented from sending out their products on time to their customers.

“There was so much delay in our exports. Accounts all over the world started going somewhere else, “ Licup said.

“We lost a very big chunk of the VCO market that the Philippines previously held,” Licup said.

Licup said despite the recent slump, SC Global remains bullish on business products, noting it is still working to expand its production from the current processing capacity of 200 metric tons of coconut a day to up to 400 MT of nuts per day by December.

Licup said the coconut trees in Baybay had not suffered severe destruction such as those in the other parts of Leyte and Samar during the onslaught of super typhoon “Yolanda”, and the trees that were affected were also starting to bear nuts.

“We have coconuts here in Leyte,” Licup said.