We are frequently
asked about coconut palm sugar, and whether or not we plan to carry
coconut palm sugar, also referred to as coconut sugar, palm sugar, or
coconut syrup, among others. Coconut palm sugar is
the latest coconut product to gain popularity, and its place in the market is
expanding rapidly. And for good reason! Coconut palm sugar is being advertised
as a healthy sugar; low in the glycemic index and full of vitamins, minerals,
and amino acids. It apparently tastes great as well!
This new
success for palm sugar is yielding a high profit for both coconut
farmers and retailers in the U.S., as “healthier sugars” are among
the new high-demand “health” foods. We are seeing story after story
in the Philippines of how coconut farmers are converting their
coconut trees into coconut sugar production, collecting the sap from
the tree to make this hot new commodity. The process is very simple,
allowing anyone with coconut palm trees on their land to easily
convert their coconut palms into an instant cash crop that reaps
great financial benefits.
A recent report in the Manila
Bulletin stated "The
Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will aggressively promote export
of coconut sap sugar, popularly called ‘coconut sugar’ aimed at
getting a bigger share of a billion-dollar alternative sweetener
market."
As retailers in the U.S. and elsewhere
also cash in on this new demand, sadly, the other side of the story
is not being told.
What no one is
warning consumers about is that coconut palm trees cannot produce
both coconuts and coconut palm sugar! When the sap used to make coconut palm
sugar is collected from the coconut palm tree, from the flower bud
that will eventually form a coconut, that tree can no
longer produce coconuts! Think about that for a minute. No coconuts
= no coconut oil, no dried coconut, no coconut flour. Is coconut
sugar worth giving up these other valued products that come from the
coconut?? Some claim that if a coconut palm tree is producing
coconut sugar, which means that it cannot produce coconuts at the
same time, that it can still be converted back to producing coconuts
at a later time. However, in Marianita's experience in growing up in
a coconut producing community, she has never seen this happen, and
we have not seen any studies that have been conducted published
anywhere to back up this claim.
The price of
coconuts has recently been at an all time high in the Philippines, and
we have been seeing shortages worldwide in all the coconut producing
countries. Before the coconut palm sugar market craze, there were
already coconut palm trees dedicated to the production of “tuba,” the
toddy that comes from the sap of the flowering bud of the coconut
palm tree. This tuba is used
to make coconut vinegar, but mostly it is used for lambanong, an alcoholic
beverage best described as “coconut vodka.” This is an established market in the
Philippines, and you can be sure that for the most part, these coconut palm trees
that have been used to produce coconut vodka are not just all of a sudden being
converted to coconut sugar production! No, coconut palms that were formerly
producing coconuts are now being converted to coconut sugar production, because a farmer
can often make more money from the simple coconut sugar production than they can from
selling the coconuts to wholesale coconut commodity brokers.
As it stands now, coconut
palm sugar is not a sustainable industry. High consumer demand for coconut palm
sugar is competing with increased demand for coconut oil and other coconut
products. There are also no published standards for coconut palm sugar production
that we are aware of, and
many of the nutrient claims may be unfounded. We have only seen one study
to date that has been published regarding the supposed low glycemic index, but the quality of the coconut palm
sugar will vary greatly depending on the type of tree the sap is collected from, the age
of the tree, the time of year (rainy season or dry season), etc. Are there
actual studies published taking into account all of these factors? Are there
published standards anywhere on the production of coconut sugar from the
Philippines?
Tropical Traditions has looked into the
possibility of providing coconut sugar to our customers, and there are just too
many unanswered questions regarding the short term sustainability of coconut
palm sugar products, the quality of coconut palm sugar production,
and the impact of supplies of coconut products such as coconut oil, coconut
flour, dried coconut, and other coconut products which have already seen record
prices in recent times. People in the coconut palm sugar business have accused
us of being financially motivated on this issue to simply protect the products
we sell, but they fail to realize that with our network of hundreds of family
who are small-scale family producers, that we are quite possibly in the best
position to enter the coconut palm sugar market and profit even more from it
than the current suppliers. So this is not a financial position for us at all.
The Philippine Coconut Authority in the Philippines is wisely
recommending people to plant coconut trees especially for coconut sugar
production, particularly the “dwarf” breeds that are shorter and can grow faster
(average of 5 years instead of 10 years.) But as long as consumers continue to
demand coconut palm sugar at the present time, it is unlikely that growers and harvesters in the
Philippines will not wait many years to allow the supply to catch up when they
can make a greater profit now. If
current trends continue, coconuts could soon be so scarce and the price of coconut
oil will be so high that only the rich and famous will be able to afford it.
There is a reason why the
coconut palm sugar is so nutritious. It feeds the coconut flower that grows into a
wonderful coconut, from which we get such healthy products like coconut oil!
Coconut oil is unique in nature because of its fatty acid structure. Only human
breast milk contains similar amounts of medium chain fatty acids. Healthy
sugars, on the other hand, abound in nature. So for this reason, Tropical
Traditions has decided not to enter into the coconut palm sugar market at this
time.
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