Opportunities in macapuno production
Posted on November 27th, 2009
There is a big demand for the macapuno or the “mutant nut” in the Philippines as well as in other countries. This offers a big opportunity for Filipino entrepreneurs as they can venture into the business of producing planting or the nut itself.
The Philippine Coconut Authority Albay Research Center scientists were able to develop the Embryo-Cultured Macapuno in 2008, which made the production of “true-to-type” macapuno easy.
Cristeta Cueto, one of those scientists said that because of the big demand for the product, technology was able to offer big opportunity to prospective investors into tissue culture laboratory and nursery operations. Or, they might also be interested to produce the nut itself for domestic and foreign consumption.
Cueto, during her talk in the recent forum of investors at Nido Fortified Science Discover Center at the SM Mall of Asia last November 25, said that there is a wide gap between the supply and demand for macapuno nuts. The data from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) confirms this.
That is why in 1999, 134,000 Embryo-Cultured macapuno was required to plant 1,160 hectares and serve the eight million macapuno nuts required to serve the market’s demand. “Since then, massive planting of laboratory-raised seedlings had been encouraged to retain the status of being the largest macapuno nut-producing country among the coconut-growing regions,” Cueto added.
She cited the opportunities in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and industrial macapuno-based products waiting to be explored.
Cueto also mentioned the studies conducted by Dr. Ma. Judith B. Rodriguez of the PCA-ARC in the utilization of the nut’s highly viscous liquid endosperm that has high content of galactomannan, a polysaccharide, which can be used as alternative raw material for the production of hand and body lotion, hand sanitizers, hair cream, facial masks, hair gel, shampoo, conditioner, and even as biodegradable edible film.
This technology of producing embryo-cultured macapuno however is available only for commercial production of true-to-type macapuno planting materials. For investors interested in the mass production of embryo-cultured macapuno, seedling will be provided as well as complete technical training in the developed protocol, Cueto said.
