Philippine exports of coconut oil in 2011 reached 781,611 tonnes as of December 22, well below an industry forecast of 900,000 tonnes for the entire year, preliminary industry data showed on Monday.
Shipments are down nearly 42 percent so far this year from last year's 1.34 million tonnes as tight copra supply cut production of the edible oil, the United Coconut Associations of the Philippines (UCAP) said in a report.
The Southeast Asian country, the world's top supplier of coconut oil, shipped 748,881 tonnes from January to November, down 41 percent from a year earlier, it said.
Coconut oil exports in November fell 28.3 percent from a year earlier to 45,068 tonnes, the second-lowest monthly volume this year. The United States was the top buyer of Philippine coconut oil last month, taking 30,368 tonnes or about two-thirds of total exports, while the European market absorbed nearly a quarter at 10,500 tonnes. Japan bought 4,200 tonnes. Coconut oil, used in food, detergents and biofuels, is one of the country's major export products.
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