The Coconut Industry Investment Fund-Oil Mills Group (CIIF-OMG), Philippines' biggest coconut oil producer, is set to conduct a board meeting on July 8 in an anticipated election of a new top management officer.

Presidential Commission on Good Government Chairman Camilo Sabio has agreed to hold a board meeting this Wednesday upon an order of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to appoint Jesus M. Arranza as new president and chief executive officer. Arranza is also president of the Federation of Philippine Industries Inc. (FPI).

Industry officials said Sabio agreed to hold a board meeting for the election of Arranza after Arroyo gave an advice upon her return from an official visit to Brazil last week to immediately hold the meeting.

CIIF-OMG is apparently being positioned by government to become a more diversified coconut-based manufacturing company.

For many years, it has engaged in the manufacturing of crude coconut oil and exports bulk of its production. Its output represents around 50 percent of the country’s total crude coconut oil production.

Its two running plants now have an output of 48,000 to 74,000 metric tons (MT) of crude coconut oil. At a crude coconut oil price of $580 per MT (based on the high range of price offers up to September this year), it can earn as much as $42.98 million in gross revenue yearly.

Arranza said in a press briefing that CIIF-OMG will at once engage in bio-diesel toll manufacturing as he has already met with both a prospective supplier, Atson Coco, and a prospective market, Flying V for the product.

"I met with Flying V for our supply to them of biodiesel because Flying V is expanding its operations in Davao and wants an assurance of a supply of coconut methyl ester (CME)."

With Atson Coco, he said the transaction will not be a "one-way" thing since CIIF-OMG will be the one to supply crude coconut oil to the company. Atson Coco will in turn produce CME from the crude coconut oil supplied by CIIF-OMG.

Arranza said he is also looking into the possibility of getting a supply contract from Coconut Chemicals which is an affiliate company of CIIF-OMG as the company was also funded through coconut levy fund just like CIIF-OMG’s funding source.

"But it takes at least three months to retool the facilities of Coco Chemicals. But we’ll be in the market soon with biodiesel from Atson Coco," he said.

Arranza said that while it may not be popular for the government to encourage planting and production of palm oil, this may be a wise move of government through CIIF-OMG.

One hectare of palm oil plantation can produce five MT (5,000 kilos) of palm oil while the same one hectare of coconut plantation can only produce 500 kilos of crude coconut oil.

Besides, the Philippines is really importing palm oil at around 100,000 MT yearly. And farmers planting of palm oil will give them additional earnings while coconut may be used as raw material for higher-priced, high value manufactures like CME.