WHY IMPORT COCONUT PRODUCTS?

 

WHY IMPORT COCONUT PRODUCTS?

Have you heard the funny jokes about selling refrigerators to Eskimos? How about that other joke about selling camels to Arabs? Do not laugh now, but will it sound like a joke if foreigners will try to sell coconut products to Filipinos? Again, do not laugh, but about ten years ago, it would be funny if you tell stories about foreigners trying to sell rice to Filipinos! But look at what is happening now?

Ever since I was a brand coordinator at San Miguel Corporation many years ago, it has become my habit to read the packaging of any consumer product that I could get my hands on, to find out who makes it or who sells it, or where it is coming from. Imagine my surprise when I found a can of imported coconut milk from Sri Lanka, already processed into condensed milk by mixing it with cane sugar!

What is happening to our country? Are we unable to can pure and simple coconut milk? Or mix it with cane sugar to produce condensed milk? How hard is it to do that? What hurts the most is that both ingredients are bountiful in our country, and canning food is practically a cottage industry by now!

What have we done wrong, or what are we not doing right? Where have we failed, and which government agency could have prevented this slap on our faces? Could it be the DTI? Or the DOST? Or the DA? Whichever it is, it is not too late to correct this missed opportunity! Who will act first, and what kind of help do they need from us? IKE SENERES/03-26-2024

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