Philippines Is Looking To Make The First Shipment Of Coconut To US By July
FIRST – The shipment of coconut to be sold in United States’ markets could be made by the Philippines within the days of July.
In a previous report, the Philippines’ government officials already looked into the possibility of exporting young coconuts or buko to US Markets.
A bilateral meeting was held on May 22-23 between US and Philippines’ Plant Health Officers United States Department Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) headquarters located at Riverdale, Maryland US.
Meanwhile, preparations for the first ever shipment of young coconuts to the US are being made by the Department of Agriculture and Philippine Coconut Authority. They are on a collaborating to work on making connections between farmers’ organizations and US buyers and consolidators.
Emmanuel Piñol – Department of Agriculture Secretary – revealed in a Facebook post that he is aiming to conduct the country first shipment of green coconut’s ceremonial on July. Simultaneous to his visit in the US to sorghum and garlic production sites.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Undersecretary for Agriculture – Tom McKinney – also paid Philippines a visit and gave his assurance to Piñol that the US Markets will be open for supplies of young coconuts from the Philippines.
Piñol also suggested the inclusion of farmers that grow varieties of coconut in the planned export:
“The PCA has been directed to advise its regional offices to identify farmers who grow the varieties for coco water and meat so that they could be included in the export program.”
This is according to an article from PhilStar.
Philippines’ Attaché to the United States Josyline Javelosa also confirmed last Thursday that the United States is now accepting coconut imports from the Philippines.
Javelosa stated:
“The US government has confirmed that young coconuts from the Philippines may now be exported through all ports in the USA.”
That is all there is to it, at least for now. We’ll post updates as soon as we got them.