Marcos orders PCA to craft solid plan for coconut industry

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants a concrete plan for the coconut industry as he sees a «big opportunity» amid the administration's target to plant 100 million trees by 2028.

In a statement on Thursday, Malacañang said the president had a meeting with officials of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) where they discussed the proposed massive tree-planting project.

«There’s a big opportunity so let’s have a look at that… Kailangan natin mayroon tayong plano (We need to have a plan),» Marcos said.

Under the plan, the PCA seeks to plant 20 to 25 million trees every year from 2023 to 2028, a few decades after it launched the same initiative.

However, Marcos said political terms should not bar the agency from continuing the rehabilitation and development program.

The PCA is proposing to issue a memorandum of agreement with local government units, with the latter implementing coconut planting and replanting, seed farm development, and coconut fertilization, to name a few.

According to the Palace, the country has 3.6 million hectares planted with coconut trees, with 340.6 million coconut-bearing trees capable of producing 14 to 15 billion coconuts annually.

It added that the Philippines «remains the biggest exporter of coconut products,» posting an export value of $3.22 billion in 2022.