15 March 2023 - The National Banner Program Committee on High Value Crops- Fiber Crops held its first Quarter Meeting through a hybrid setup.

QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES - The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), represented by Ms. Luz Brenda P. Balibrea, Division Chief of the Trade Information and Relations Division (TIRD), and Mr. Ruben Rico, Division Chief of the Farmer’s Welfare and Institute Development Division (FWIDD), attended the 1st Quarter Meeting of the National Banner Program Committee (NBPC) of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) on High Value Crops- Fiber Crops last 15 March 2023. The meeting was held via hybrid mode- at the Department of Agriculture (DA) Compound for in-person attendees, and through the zoom platform for virtual participants.

Among the agenda included for the meeting were: (a) the Future Plans and New Directions of the Fiber Industry with the New Administration; (b) Milestones of the committee for FY 2022; (c) Reports on the Regional and Satellite Offices of the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA); (d) Updates on the Philippine Coir Industry; (e) Status of DOST-PTRI’s Pilot Projects on Bamboo Fiber Extraction and Production; and (f) Status of the Spinning and Ginning Cotton Facilities.

Ms. Luz Brenda P. Balibrea, Division Chief of PCA-Trade Information and Relations Division (TIRD), presents updates on the Philippine Coir Industry to the Committee.

During the meeting, Ms. Luz Brenda P. Balibrea of PCA-TIRD provided updates on Philippine Coir Industry, where she presented the status of the coir processing plants in the country, the trade performance and major market destinations of coir products, major growth drivers, investment opportunities, current programs and policies in place, bottlenecks of the industry, and recommendations for bridging these gaps in realizing the potential and development of the coir industry.

One of the key bottlenecks highlighted was the unclear delineation of the functions of PCA and the PhilFIDA over coir products. Last 2017, the two agencies have previously agreed for PCA to have the regulatory function over the coir industry, in response to the clamor of the private sector to simplify the process and deal with one regulatory function only. However, the said regulatory function over fiber products cannot simply be turned over by PhilFIDA to PCA without the legal instrument. Consequently, the Committee agreed to issue a resolution recommending for both agencies to convene for a meeting to discuss and craft an appropriate legal issuance for the transfer of the regulatory functions on the coir industry solely to PCA.