Kelapa / Coconut - Part 3

 

PROSPECTS OF COCONUT WOOD UTILIZATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION

There is substantial evidence to argue that coconut wood utilization and commercialization have considerable potential in the immediate future and in the long term. This scenario is driven by several factors. First, in many countries in Asia, the availability of preferred tropical hardwood has declined dramatically in recent years, especially in areas with high population density. Second, the extensive stands of senile and unproductive coconut trees in the Asia-Pacific region will have to be cut and replaced by high yielding varieties to sustain the coconut industries in these countries which often constitute a pillar of their rural economies. The coconut replanting programmes in all coconut producing countries within the region would certainly release huge volumes of raw materials for utilization. Third, coconut wood processing technologies have been developed, and appropriate machinery and equipment have been developed to enable efficient commercial operation on coconut wood utilization. However, the availability of old stems from oil palm trees which had similar quality with coconut wood upon proper treatment had been a serious competition in the public demand or marketing sectors. In fact, the oil palm stem had wider cross section cutting if compared with coconut wood.

old palm oil tree has bigger stem, if compared with coconut tree

From the economic and environmental point of view, it is practical to process and add value to a potentially useful resource rather than see it go to waste and pose a hazard to the environment. From the forest conservation perspective, increased used of coconut wood could potentially reduce the pressure exerted on natural forests by providing alternative or complementary raw material for housing, building construction and other uses. There is also significant prospects for income and employment generation to be derived from increased utilization of coconut wood. This prospect is both socially and economically attractive since more than 80% of coconut landholdings in the Asia-Pacific region are owned by small farmholders.

The demand for coconut wood for housing is very high in view of the fast growing population in the region. Tourism and the economic boom in the Pacific rim could also provide an increasing demand for coconut wood products in the form of furniture and other novelty items. Since the market is price driven, small but inexpensive and easy to sell cocowood items will find their way in the marketplace not only within the region but in European and North American countries. The environmental concern of most people in the world could create a push for an easily renewable resource like coconut wood. The idea of substituting the cutting of a forest tree with products derived from coconut lumber should fit well into the thinking and feelings of environmentally - friendly people world-wide.

The increasing trend of demand for coconut wood could very well follow the success achieved in the utilization and commercialization of rubberwood and even wood derived from mango trunks. After resolving the technological problems and constraints on raw material supply availability, rubberwood is now the raw material of choice for the Malaysian and Thai furniture industry.

To sustain the utilization and commercialization of coconut wood, it is therefore necessary that the governments and the private sector consider the following:

-ensure adequate raw material supply availability on a continuing and sustained basis;
-maintain active research programme to overcome technical problems and expand product lines;
-support the training of potential sawmillers and other users to build confidence in the material and create a   critical mass of investors and entrepreneurs in the coconut wood industry; and
-support a private sector led promotional campaign to convince all players in the industry and its potential users and consumers on the versatility of coconut wood.