RCEP Helps China Philippines Coconut Industry Cooperation Bloom and Fruits

The ASEAN Secretariat, the custodian of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), has recently issued a notice that the Philippines has officially deposited its approval letter with the ASEAN Secretary General. According to the agreement, RCEP will officially enter into force for the Philippines from June 2, 2023. In order to strictly fulfill the commitments of the agreement and actively promote the full implementation of RCEP, the State Council Tariff Commission has issued a notice that starting from June 2, 2023, the applicable treaty tax rates of RCEP ASEAN member countries will be applied to some imported goods originating in the Philippines, and the subsequent annual tax rates will be implemented from January 1 of that year. After the RCEP came into effect for the Philippines, all 15 members completed the entry into force process and implemented tariff concessions with each other, entering a new stage of comprehensive implementation of the agreement.
The approval of RCEP by the Philippines has brought joy to the domestic coconut market and coconut product enthusiasts. In recent years, coconut consumption, represented by coconut beverages, has been increasing year by year in China. Driven by tea brands such as Xicha and Ruixing, coconut drinks wear the laurel of health and trend in the beverage industry, and are driving the size of the coconut market to climb year by year. According to data, the size of China's coconut market reached 5.428 billion yuan in 2022.
According to the "2023-2029 China Coconut Industry Development Status Analysis and Prospects Strategic Analysis Report" released by Zhiyan Consulting, China's coconut industry is mainly distributed in provinces and regions such as Hainan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, etc. Among them, Hainan Province accounts for about 99% of the country's planting area, and is also the only region in China to carry out commercial coconut planting. The limited production of coconut in China makes it difficult to meet the growing demand for coconut in the food market. Moreover, the development of China's coconut planting industry and processing industry is not coordinated, with a large gap in raw material supply. The coconut industry has a single product structure, low added value, and severe homogenization, which has caused significant obstacles to the development of the coconut industry. At present, China's coconut raw materials mainly rely on imports, with most of the coconut raw materials from enterprises such as coconut trees, Chunguang, and Nanguo coming from imports. Some foreign coconut export enterprises, in order to support the development of their own coconut industry and restrict exports, undoubtedly have a significant impact on the Chinese market.
For a long time, due to various reasons, China's main destination countries for importing green coconuts and coconut products have been Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. More than 1/4 of the land in the Philippines is used to grow coconuts. In 2019, Philippine coconut was approved to be exported to China, and its green coconut, coconut water, coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut sugar and other products were able to enter the Chinese market. In 2020, the Philippines has become China's second largest coconut supplier. Approximately 43000 tons of coconut products are exported to China annually, accounting for 27% of the Chinese coconut market share.
Since the entry of Filipino coconuts into China, the development of the industry in the Philippines has greatly accelerated, with an average annual growth rate of over double digits and even nearly 60% growth last year. The industry's annual revenue is nearly 2 billion US dollars.
Qu Qiang, a researcher at the Beijing International Economic and Trade Association, stated in an interview with China Trade News that with the implementation of relevant trade agreements, the Philippine coconut industry facing China will achieve faster development, benefiting local farmers and enterprises. It can be said that adding RCEP to the Philippine coconut