Recently,the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) says that there is a close competition in the local production of coconut oil—the primary byproduct of copra—in the market causing them to lower the price of Copra from 11 pesos per kilo to 3 pesos per kilo.

      In one of the interviews with Secretary Emmanuel Pinol, he states that smuggling of copra is the main reason why copra prices have gone down in the country. He also says that as much as he wanted to act on the matter, his hands are bind together as there is no executive order yet that would formalize the transfer of PCA under the control of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

     However, due to the lowering prices of copra, it has affected 3.5 million Filipino Coconut farmers and their families, one of them is Aling Daling.

     Magdalena Perpinan Rey, a 63 year old woman who sells copra as their living business since she’s a child is one of the people that is affected due to the lowering price of copra, she said that it starts since President Rodrigo Duterte started his president term.

     “ Ang hirap talaga, kasi luging-lugi, dun pa nga lang sa pagbibigay ng 11 pesos  na presyo medyo masakit na sa damdamin, paano pa kaya yung tatlong piso kada kilo, ni hindi na sila naawa samin eh eto lang yung kinabubuhay namin, halos wala na kaming tubo dito, kaya nga nananawagan kami sa president na kung pwede gawan naman nya ng paraan, kasi ang dami naming ditong nahihirapan,”  Aling Daling says.

      Copra is the dried meat of a coconut which is a fruit of a coconut palm, the all-purpose coconut oil that we use in our daily life such as in cooking was extracted from the copra. One coconut palm can yield around 80-500 grams of copra. It is utilized for a variety of purpose making it an important part of the agricultural industry.

      It is favoritely used in beauty products such as hair oils because of its moisture and texture. The coconut scent is also used by many in making candles and soaps. Compared to butter and margarine, coconut oil is more preferable and the coconut cake produced in making copra is commonly used as a livestock food.

      Despite the many benefits that copra can give, Prices of copra is still dropping, it has dropped over 45 percent last April, making it not enough for farmers to even feed their families so they find another job.

     “ Merong iba naghanap na talaga ng ibang trabaho, ay wala namang magagawa e, yung iba sa kanila nag re-resell na lang sa avon, masakit man para sa kanila kasi yun na yung nakasanayan nila wala ring magagawa kasi walang maipangkakain kung ganun,” Aling Daling added.

      Regardless of what is really happening in the coco industry and its dark story of coco farmers suffering from the price decrease of copra, Quezon and other municipalities and cities in the Philippines is still thankful for the success of the colorful Niyogyugan Festival.