One of the world’s super-foods, coconuts offer so much and are so abundant here in Panama.  Other areas of the world are not so lucky.

Asian coconut production is expected to suffer a crisis, an event that could open markets for Central American growers.

The UN Agency for Food and Agriculture (FAO) is warning of an impending crisis in coconut production in Asian countries which are major producers globally, due to aging plantations, whose yields have fallen from 100 coconuts per tree year, to just 40.

Sector productivity is increasing by 2% a year, while global demand is growing by 10%. In Asia, the coconut palm that characterizes the landscape from the Philippines to India, is facing a crisis because ageing palm crops are less productive, reducing the harvest of the commodity which is used in food, fuel, soaps and cosmetics.

It is estimated that the harvest in Asia Pacific is currently roughly forty coconuts per tree per year, compared with a potential yield of one hundred. This is because after sixty years, reforestation is advisable of the trees, many of which were planted between fifty and sixty years ago, do not produce enough. Meanwhile, it is considered a source of food and income for millions of people: in the Philippines, for example, coconut exports account for 5% of GDP. Other major producers are Indonesia and India.

Source: Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations