The Confederation of Coconut Farmers’ Organizations of the Philippines (CCFOP) said it is skeptical that the Philippine Coconut Authority’s (PCA) proposal to gain additional powers to set copra prices will benefit farmers.

Copra, the dried meat of the coconut, is a key raw material for coconut oil and other processed coconut products. Farmgate pricing is therefore closely watched by coconut growers, traders, processors, and policymakers because it affects how much value farmers capture before the crop moves into processing and export supply chains.

CCFOP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles R. Avila said the PCA plan does not address income disparities between farmers and buyers. He said the proposed arrangement would effectively replace private traders with government middlemen.

“Instead of dismantling the system that has long left coconut farmers with little bargaining power, it risks preserving the same status quo under a different set of gatekeepers,” Mr. Avila told BusinessWorld via Viber.

Mr. Avila said concentrating pricing power in the PCA could create more opportunities for excessive control over the coconut industry and leave farmers further marginalized.

“Concentrating such pricing authority in one agency creates fertile ground for corruption, rent-seeking, and undue influence, while farmers remain trapped selling raw copra instead of sharing in the value-added from processed coconut products,” he said.

He added that coconut farmers already receive support in establishing integrated plants through the coconut levy fund and other investors.

“Dehusked nuts sell directly to processing plants at, say, P20 to P22/kg, which is equivalent to P66/kg of copra,” Mr. Avila said.

The PCA is seeking support from legislators to amend its charter to include authority over copra prices, citing the need to respond to declining incomes among coconut farmers. Any change to the agency’s mandate would require congressional action, making the proposal part of a broader policy debate over whether price intervention or greater farmer participation in processing would do more to raise incomes.

PCA head executive assistant Joseph Cezar L. Deligero said the agency will consult the industry as it develops a method for setting floor prices for copra that would benefit farmers, processors, and buyers. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza