The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
With the delisting of coconut by the US Food and Drug Administration from the list of tree nuts classified as major food allergens, the Department of Trade and Industry sees demand for other coconut-based products rising in that market.
Citing Mintel’s global new product database from 2018 to 2023, DTI-Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) Director Bianca Pearl Sykimte said there are more than 20,000 product variants that use coconut as an ingredient in the US, including food, drinks and personal care products.
“The delisting of coconut as a major food allergen can boost demand for these products and encourage more producers and consumers to support coconut-based/containing products. This, in turn, will benefit our coconut farmers and exporters,” Sykimte told Business Mirror.
The FDA released in late January a document, providing guidance for industry on food allergen labeling requirements under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The document removed coconut from that list.
DTI said in a statement that this development eliminates the need for special allergen labeling on coconut-containing packaged foods and supplements under the US Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA).
The delisting is expected to enhance market confidence in the use of coconut as an ingredient in food products and supplements, providing a “significant boost” for Philippine coconut exporters in the US market.
DTI said this milestone follows “decades of lobbying” by the Philippine coconut farmers and exporters.
“These efforts were strongly supported by the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Agriculture [DA], and the Philippine Coconut Authority [PCA].”
The DTI and the DA have long championed the removal of coconut in the list of major food allergens, Sykimte said.
In September 2023, the PCA and the DTI-EMB, along with Philippine industry leaders, led a policy mission to Washington, D.C. to discuss the issue with key US government experts.
“Given the importance of the Philippine coconut industry, DTI and DA then elevated the discussions to the Philippines-US Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD) Working Group on Economics, Development and Prosperity, chaired by DTI Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo and co-chaired by Department of Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella, held in April 2024, and in the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meetings held in July 2024.”
Key products like coconut oil, desiccated coconut and copra continue to drive demand, reinforcing the sector’s vital role in the country’s export growth.
The removal of coconut’s allergen classification is expected to boost demand for a variety of coconut-based items, including refined and virgin coconut oil, coconut milk, desiccated coconut, coconut water, and coconut sugar.
Philippine Statistics Authority records revealed that coconut products continue to rank among the Philippines’s top exports, with shipments to the US alone reaching $524.92 million from January to October 2024.