APRIL 6, 2012 DATE

NR # 2701
REF. NO.

Lawmakers fear for the collapse of the coconut industry due to infestation
Lawmakers today warned that the continuing infestation of thousands of coconut trees in Southern Luzon might result to the collapse of the coconut industry. Reps. Angelo Palmones (Party-list, AGHAM) and Sonny Collantes (3rd District, Batangas) filed House Resolution 2112 calling on Congress to conduct an inquiry into the infestation of coconut trees and come up with a remedial measure to address the matter. Palmones also expressed fear the infestation of scale insects called aspidiotus destructor may spread to other regions. Palmones urged the House Committee on Agriculture and Food to conduct the investigation to determine the extent of the infestation and come up with appropriate mitigating measures. According to Palmones, there are reports that other palm species like Palmera, Hawaiian Palm and kaong have already been infested by insects, threatening other industries based on the palm group of plants including the ornamental and landscaping industry. There is a need to conduct surveillance on the extent of infestation of the coconut trees by the scale insect throughout the country and there is a need to save the coconut industry which has been providing livelihood to millions of Filipinos and boosting export earnings of the country, Palmones said. Palmones said the insects suck the nutrients and sap of the coconut tree causing the leaves to turn brown and eventually fall off. Infested trees lose productivity, thus reducing the number of nuts produced per tree, Palmones said. Citing reports, Palmones said there are some 43,389 coconut trees in seven municipalities and 41 barangays in Batangas that have been affected by the scale insects. The other affected areas are some municipalities of Laguna and Quezon. Palmones said there are about 341.3 million coconut trees in the country as of 2009 producing close to 15.54 billion nuts a year of which 3.58 and 0.96 million tons of copra equivalents are exported and consumed locally. The coconut industry is one of the mainstay industries of the country, accounting for an export value of $1.6 billion in 2010, and if the scale insect infestation is not addressed right away, productivity may suffer, Palmones said. Last year, President Aquino reported after his visit to the United States that there are entrepreneurs who are interested in importing buko juice valued at $1.5 million annually. (30) sb