How many coconuts are grown for human consumption

In , Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines, damaging an estimated 44 million trees along the way. The storm accelerated a drop in coconut production of more than 1.

The weather is especially volatile in this tropical region, so the supply is likely to suffer weather-related shocks on a regular basis. As an example of another type of natural disaster, coconut production is currently being hurt by a variety of pests.

One such example is the red palm mite, which is an invasive species common in tropical regions, that has been responsible for coconut crop losses that have sometimes exceeded 50 percent. In response to the decline in production, more and more organizations are rolling out initiatives to stimulate production. For starters, planting initiatives are being set into motion to help replace the aging trees.

Cargill in partnership with Winrock International recently donated 20, seedlings in Indonesia, while the Philippine Coconut Authority has purchased four million coconut seedlings. Additionally, given the long lead time between planting and tree maturation, producers are also switching to new coconut hybrids that bear more fruit more quickly. Governments, businesses, and NGOs are also encouraging farmers to adopt intercropping, or the practice of growing multiple crops on the same field.

Studies have shown that intercropping can generate net incomes three to five times higher than those from traditional nut production alone. Another option for increasing farmer incomes is for expansion into other niche coconut products, like coconut sugar, which utilize other parts of the palm, such as coconut husks and shells.

Tapping coconut palms for their sap to be reduced into sugar can actually stimulate fruit production and processing the coconut husks and shells into crafts, fertilizer, or charcoal can be a way of reaping a profit from what might otherwise be a waste product. Perhaps the most promising outcome for greater coconut production is that farmers in other regions have been enticed by high prices to join the market.

Farmers in tropical regions of Africa and Oceania are starting to plant crops, while the Caribbean has also seen growth in production over the past few years.

Most of the growth is driven by actions taken in the Dominican Republic—the largest producer in the region. Although the country lost an estimated 30 percent of its plantations by Hurricane Jeanne in , it has continued to invest. Everyone wants more coconuts, from consumers who believe that they are very healthy; to processors who need copra as an industrial input; and to farmers who want to take advantage of higher prices.

They are also used to produce copra and its by-product, copra oil. Some 10 million smallholders worldwide rely on the coconut value chain for a living, but it faces a range of issues: copra's reduced competitiveness, competition from palm kernel oil, and the development of lethal diseases that can wipe out coconut plantations within a few years.

CIRAD is thus working to support the value chain's development. Coconuts are not only used as food, but they are also used in the production of various wooden items, in the construction industry, in makeup and other beauty products, and as a fuel. The trees can be dwarf and tall. Dwarf trees are between 20 to 60 feet in height and tall trees grow to up 98 feet. To grow a new tree, unhusked ripe nuts are laid on their sides close together in nursery beds covered with soil.

After about 4 to 10 months they are transplanted between 26 to 33 feet. It takes new trees 5 to 6 years to bear fruit, while full fruit bearing takes 15 years. Coconut trees have 13 to 20 inches long pinnate leaves that can reach 24 to 35 inches long.

The trees develop male and female flowers and can be distinguished by size. Female flowers are larger in size. It takes a year for the fruit of the tree to become fully ripe. A major factor here is that it takes upwards of five years for a tree to start producing coconuts, which is a long time to wait to put food on the table. The National Anti-Poverty Commission found that despite the increased demand for coconut, the average coconut farmer lives below the poverty line.

Farmers have little to no extra income to invest in resources for their farms, which results in shrinking crops and further declining incomes. And so, the cycle continues.

Low incomes, declining production, deeper poverty.