The Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFida) has benchmarked the daily copra price monitoring system of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) in a bid to bridge the disparity in abaca prices.
The PCA noted that this comes amid farmers’ growing concerns over the widening gap between farmgate prices of abaca and pulp producers’ selling prices.
As such, the agency said this is a key step in ensuring fairer pricing mechanisms, improving farmer income, enhancing industry resilience, and strengthening inter-agency coordination.
PCA Administrator and CEO Dexter Buted expressed support for the initiative along with the data-driven interventions that promote transparency and market fairness.
Meanwhile, the agencies also discussed a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance abaca-coconut intercropping, including the conduct of a comparative income study between abaca monocropping and abaca-coconut intercrop systems.
The funding stream for intercropping initiatives could be sourced through the Department of Agriculture’s High Value Crops Development Program (DA-HVCDP), which signals potential support for farmers adopting mixed-crop systems.
Officials also agreed to revive efforts to advance the Joint Administrative Circular (JAC) to delineate their respective mandates under the Shared Responsibilities for the Regulation of Coir and Coir Products, in support of the long-term sustainability of the Philippine coir industry.
Buted said the collaboration represents ‘a step toward a more equitable pricing environment, farmer empowerment, and integrated fiber and coconut industry growth.’
Abaca was among the commodities that the DA pitched in a recent international forum that would constitute the Philippines’s $108.88-million agrifood investment portfolio.
Other commodities offered were mango, seaweeds, and bamboo, according to the agency.
At the recent 2025 Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum held during the World Food Forum (WFF) at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Headquarters in Rome, Italy, Assistant Agriculture Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the plan could benefit over 35,000 rural stakeholders.
He said the initiative also projects a Net Present Value (NPV) of $131.9 million with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 34.39 percent, while aiming to sequester over 280,000 metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, supporting national climate goals.
For abaca, the DA said the project responds to a global supply gap of 25,000 metric tons (MT). The Philippines currently supplies over 85 percent of the world’s abaca fiber.
As such, the investment would establish modern processing centers, rehabilitate farmland, and support 300 farmers, with a projected IRR of 28.36 percent and a 50 percent income increase for beneficiaries.