Quality Management Practices, Challenges and Opportunities of Copra Production, Trading and Processing in Labo, Camarines Norte

Date

6-2022

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Melodee Marciana E. De Castro

Committee Member

Jeanette Angeline B. Madamba, Rei Chino C. Pua

Abstract

The Philippines is the world's second-largest producer of coconut products with 14.7 metric tons of annual production and PHP 91.4 billion in average annual export earnings from 2014 to 2018 (Philippine Coconut Authority, 2018). Copra is one of the primary products derived from coconut and is processed to make different kinds of high-value oils such as coconut oil. There is a growing demand for coconut oil in the global marketplace, and the availability and quality of copra are crucial to capturing market share. However, upon exploring the copra industry's issues, copra quality is on the top of the list.

This special problem report is intended to investigate the quality management of copra production and trading in Labo, Camarines Norte. Specifically, this aimed to (1) present a macro environment analysis for the coconut/copra producers, traders, and consolidators/coconut oil mills, and (2) describe the profiles of copra producers, traders, and consolidators/coconut oil mills, as well as their respective enterprises, (3) discuss the copra production, trading and processing practices in Labo, Camariness Norte, (4) explain the challenges and opportunities of copra production, trading and processing in the aforesaid area, and (5) formulate strategic recommendations for the improvement of the present practices of copra farmers and traders to maintain copra industry competitiveness.

The descriptive research design was used in the conduct of the study. In this research, proportionate sampling getting an equitable sample size from each gender was used for farmers and traders. For the copra farmers, a sample population of 36 respondents was interviewed, 18 respondents are male and 18 are female. For the copra traders, a sample population of 30 respondents was interviewed, 15 respondents are male and 15 are female. Moreover, there were 4 copra farmer-traders interviewed, 2 were male and 2 were female. One consolidator and one oil mill company were also interviewed. Personal interviews were conducted from April 2 to April 14, 2022, in the 18 barangays included in this study.

Due to the export orientation of the copra industry, the macroenvironment affects all stages of the supply chain. In Labo, Camarines Norte, 343.46 square kilometers (87.98% of land area dedicated for crop production) are planted with coconut trees. Copra production was the main source of income among the respondents with average monthly earnings amount of PHP 14,634. Only a little higher than the monthly poverty threshold of PHP12,082. The general trading practice of copra traders was to source copra from farmers and sell it either to another trader, a consolidator, or directly to an oil mill. Copra production involves four main activities. Harvesting of mature nuts which are about 10 months old every 45 days was the first step of copra production as well as the quality management practice of copra farmers. Oil mills, on the other hand, conduct strict compliance with the quality assurance practices and uses analytical evaluation to determine copra quality.

Overall, the challenges in quality management of copra production, trading, and processing were (1) time-consuming production practices, (2) effect of weather conditions in the production and handling of copra, and (3) lack of available resources such as capital to invest in structures and tools (4) lack of awareness to various quality standards, (5) difficult and expensive implementation of standard practices, (6) complex pricing structure, (7) subjectiveness of the method of evaluation, (8) lack of involvement to quality assurance practices, and (9) inadequate knowledge on proper sanitation

The opportunities from the copra production and trading practices include the following: (1) the government should invest in copra production and trading, (2) augment the income of farmers and traders, (3) conduct programs and training, and (4) conduct information drive and occasional quality assessments, (5) invest in road infrastructure and development, (6) invest in hot air dryer, (7) boost compliance through infrastructure development and awareness programs, and (8) look for cheap and easy moisture testing procedure.

After careful assessment, the researcher formulated the following recommendations: (1) invest in automated coconut dehusking and splitting machine, (2) switch to a mechanical hot air dryers, (3) use an alternative and easy method of testing moisture content, (4) form farmers associations, (4) farmers should sell directly to oil mills, (5) invest in proper storage facilities, (6) vertical integration (7) facilitate training to boost awareness to quality standard practices, (8) oil mills should conduct their aflatoxin testing, (9) the government should conduct further studies, and (10) engage farmers in income-generating activities.

Language

English

LC Subject

Coconut industry--Philippines, Total quality management

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2022 M17 A68

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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