89 million MT, followed by Northern Mindanao with 1.8 million MT, Zamboanga Peninsula with 1.52 million MT, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with 1.3 MT, and Cotabato Region with 958,350 MT.
Davao Region Industry Cluster Inc. chair Tata M. Fernandez said Mindanao faces a 3-million MT coconut deficit a year that many of the local processors source out from Visayas to fill the supply gap.
Fernandez said the deficit is caused by a stagnant production vis-à-vis a demand that grows between 3 percent and 5 percent a year.
He said if the deficit continues, it will cripple the growth of the coconut industry.
Romeo L. Castañaga, provincial director of DTI-Davao del Norte who is also country head of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area SME working group, said shipping companies have already signified an interest to deploy smaller vessels to the newly-opened sea route.
He identified these companies as the Zamboanga City-based Aleson Shipping Lines Inc. and Cebu-based Asian Marine Transport Group which owned the 500-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) M/V Super Shuttle RORO 12 that was used during the April 30 launch.
However, the M/V Super Shuttle RORO 12 did not sustain its operations while the Gensan loop was temporarily suspended due to insufficient load factor.
But the bigger vessel was already replaced by a smaller vessel, KM Gloria 28, with a 256-TEU capacity, owned by an Indonesian company, shipping directly from Davao to Bitung since October 2017, six months after the route was launched.
Castañaga said the 41-year old Aleson relayed its experience when it was just beginning to serve the route between Zamboanga Port and Sandakan port, Malaysia in 1994.
He said the shipping company suffered from insufficient load factor but the volume picked up later on. Its pioneering vessel that served the route was MV Danica Joy 1.
According to the firm’s website, the new route “made improvement in terms of goods mobility and comfortability and convenience among passengers.
At present, Aleson operates a fleet of 25 vessels and has become the dominant shipping operator in Western Mindanao.
According to the Preliminary Annual Report of DTI released on Tuesday, Indonesia is the Philippines’ top 2 import origin, second only to China. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
