John Tria
The future of our coconut industry is in diversified manufacturing
April 22, 2024 12:10 am
Recent news about the renewal of the contract between publicly listed coconut processor Axelum Resources and well-known coconut water brand Vita Coco (https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/18/axelum-signs-10-15-year-supply-deal-with-vita-coco) has many coconut industry watchers like me curious about the coconut water business, and hopeful that more deals such as these will take place to facilitate the growth of the downstream coconut industry. The article cites information from Skyquest Technology that the global market for coconut water is $7.63 billion in 2023 and may grow to $25.18 billion by 2031. That’s a lot of cans of coconut water to be drawn from Philippine coconuts, and many opportunities for coconut farmers.
E-commerce and the future of local economies
April 14, 2024 9:34 pm
One of the lessons of the Covid pandemic is that businesses need an electronic commerce (e-commerce) presence to survive and thrive. Whether on large, established online platforms or on social media groups, many individuals and businesses were able to earn from their goods and services despite that challenging time. You will recall that the movements of people were restricted in many parts of the world, preventing them from accessing physical stores. E-commerce proved to be a lifeline for many businesses to continue operating at that time.
Feeling the heat
April 08, 2024 2:28 am
Over the last four weeks, I experienced traveling in various parts of Luzon and Mindanao. The heat is definitely hotter than I have experienced in the past. An April 5 MB article (https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/5/heat-index-could-reach-danger-level-in-8-areas-on-april-6) points this out very well, as it identifies eight areas where the heat index can reach the “danger “ level from 42 to 51 degrees centigrade.
The creative industries: Opportunity for the Filipino (Part 2)
March 31, 2024 4:11 pm
My March 25 column discussed how large this creative economy has grown to a whopping ₱1.72 trillion, already contributing 7.1 percent to our country’s Gross Domestic Product. I have to say that the growth of this sector just shows how naturally creative and adaptive we are as Filipinos. To delve further into this, I would like to discuss a law that can harness this industry further. In the early 2023 I wrote about Republic Act 11904 or the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act or PCIDA Law
Creative industries: Opportunity for the Filipino
March 24, 2024 10:38 pm
A recent report from the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that our creative industries have continued to grow.