Desiccated coconuts: all bad things come in threes

July 28, 2021 at 10:46 AM , Der AUDITOR
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MANILA. In the Philippines, producers are facing rising coronavirus case numbers on the one hand, and the difficulties caused by the typhoon season on the other hand. To make the disaster complete, freight costs have reached a record high that could last until 2022.

Lockdown imposed again

In the Philippines, pandemic-related curfews have been tightened again due to rising case numbers. Experts at T.M. Duché believe that an end to the lockdown is still a long way off for the time being; the problem is that only 5.5 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated, which is just 5% of the total population. The situation could deteriorate further due to the current typhoon season, as many people often have to be evacuated and housed in emergency shelters, where they sometimes spend several days in tight spaces.

Export prices higher than in 2017

The typhoons - the first of which, "In-fa", has already caused severe flooding - are causing further difficulties for the coconut industry. Supply is already extremely tight, so according to T.M. Duché, any further disruption will affect production even more. Export prices have already exceeded the last peak of December 2017, mainly due to good demand from Europe and production backlogs. At the moment, it seems impossible to be able to fill the empty European warehouses again in the near future.

Few offers

In addition to low production, logistical hurdles also contribute to the lack of supply in the EU. On the one hand, there are repeated covid outbreaks in the ports, which further delay delivery, and on the other hand, freight costs have reached an absolute record high. Moreover, if exporters are willing to pay the high freight rates, it remains questionable whether they will get an available container and a place on the ship. The outlook in this regard is gloomy; market players expect shipping costs to maintain the current level into 2022, if not to rise even further.

For many products, there are currently only sparse offers on the European spot market, as they are simply not available. If there are price indications, they are significantly higher than at the beginning of July. For example, desiccated coconuts, high fat, origin Sri Lanka currently cost EUR 2.85/kg FCA Spain.

Desiccated coconuts and coconut chips

Quality, origin

EUR/kg

Desiccated coconuts, fine, high fat, Sri Lanka

2.85

Coconut chips, roasted, Indonesia

3.30

Coconut chips, roasted, Sri Lanka

3.50

FCA Spain

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price chart, desiccated coconuts, Sri Lanka
price chart, desiccated coconuts, Indonesia
price chart, desiccated coconuts, Philippines 
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