Governor Joseph Cua confirmed that within three months, the cooking oil manufacturing in the town of Gigmoto will be operational.
He mentioned that this is the solution to the copra problem, where whole coconuts can now be sold to the cooperative.
This initiative is part of the fund related to the coco levy fund of the government, which the Supreme Court ordered to be returned to the coconut farmers. It is gradually being distributed to the farmers.
There is no need for a large market for its production because the cooking oil produced here will be fully consumed within Catanduanes alone.
The machine will be provided by Philmec to two cooperatives in the towns of Gigmoto and San Andres, as well as in the town of Caramoran.
It is worth noting that the business process of the coco farmers in the province involves selling “Lukad”, which undergoes a lengthy process to be cooked and then sold to traders by weight.
Now, coco farmers no longer need to cook the coconuts from the tree because the cooperative will buy them as “book” or raw products.
In this way, the burden on the coco farmers will be reduced as they no longer need to process the coconuts before bringing them to traders. The governor hopes that this will significantly help the livelihood of the coco farmers in the province of Catanduanes. Aside from Abaca, coconut and lasa are also among the major products of Catanduanes.
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