I was doing my weekly groceries at a specialty food store which has gone mainstream in Central Florida.
I came across a section that had coconuts. As you are all aware – the Philippines is supposedly the world’s largest coconut producing country.
So I surmised that:
* being a coconut producing country
* with a huge number of subsistence farmers
* a Dept of Agriculture loaded with tax money – subsidies and the coco levy and what not – and all the so-called “government programs”
that by now, the Philippines will have had a shot at the global market.
But, whoa, I was in for a surprise. I saw coconuts from Mexico, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic – but there were no coconuts from the Philippines (though for Pinoy racists – am a coconut, brown on the outside – and white on the inside.. but I digress).
I looked up Thailand’s coconut industry and noted that it is diversified, competitive, and has made inroads in the global economy.
I have seen gata/coconut milk – a regular ingredient in Filipino dishes. There are lots of coconut milk brands in the shelves of US grocery shelves . The main players however are Mexican and Thai. Not a scent of the Philippines.
The same can be said about buco juice/coconut water from young coconuts – the main players are Mexican and Thai firms. Not a scent of the Philippines until very recently – and even then the tetrapacks of San Miguel products have no curb appeal to the more discriminating buyers.
I recall having a conversation with a high school buddy who was in a state run academe – that bedrock of Filipino welfarism. I asked him why there were no Philippine brands in the buco juice or gata business.
He said that the Filipinos did not want to compete against the Thai because they were already ahead of the game. Folks, that’s the point of competition – when you enter a market, you do your homework so you improve your chances.
With that attitude, the Filipinos might as well stop participating in the Olympics or any international confab for that matter because everyone else is ahead of the game. That’s quite a LOSING attitude that my buddy exhibited there, but having been in this isolated, insulated, xenophobic shell – I fully understood where he was coming from – but it did not make him any more or less correct, nonetheless.
Another buddy of mind commented that the Filipinos were still writing a project study to apply for grants from foreign governments – to improve the Philippines coconut products.
We had a hearty chuckle, and if I may add, Filipinos are still waiting for:
* government subsidies
* government summit on coconuts
* government poverty reduction strategy
* AID from US/Europe to conduct a study on how to make Philippine coconuts competitive
Meanwhile, the Thais and Mexicans are dominating the market – even if they are not the world’s largest coconut producing country.
By the way, Thailand has made subsistence farmers a relic of the past. Instead, Thailand now has professional farmers people who not just plant – but people who understand the business, can speak the language of yields, cash flow, marketing, and finance.
Contrast that to Pinoy farmers who are still dependent on 5/6, government programs, NGOS funded by Department Agriculture, protection from foreign competition – they still remain as subsistence farmers at the mercy of middlemen and brokers.
For short, Mexican and Thai entrepreneur farmers do not wait for government assistance at all. Am sure they may have used government services at one point or another – who has not. BUT, they have outgrown the need and limitations of government.
Instead they use the tried and tested tools of business – creating new markets, strengthening distribution channels, improving yields, investing private capital in R&D – and a competitive mindset.
As an FB friend mentioned
Go to any Seafood City grocery and most items sold, although labeled to look and sound Filipino are actually made in Thailand. Go to any Pier 21 or Big Lots store and you will find that most of the furnitures and furnishings that they’re selling are made in Thailand or China.
***
Speaking of guimaras mangoes.. here’s what I heard from the streets.
Cojuangco bought lands in Mexico.
Brought Guimaras mangoes to Mexico.
Is now selling “sweet Philippine mangoes” grown in Mexico.
Those Guimaras farmers wil not be able to beat the lower cost of Guimaras mangoes grown and shipped out of Mexico.
***
Now isn’t that hypocritical of Cojuangco to enjoy the pinoy only Philippines economy, then enjoy the benefits of open economies overseas.
Same with Shoemart. Protected from foreign competiton, and yet opening more malls in China.
Meralco – has regular brownouts in Philippines but has been contracted to run Singapore’s electric utility – benefitting from Singapore’s open economy.
Ayala Corp. Investing in Myanmar, Malaysia and other neighboring Asian country.
All these pinoys clamoring for:
* new leaders
* new form of government
Ang tanong:
– will that remove the protectionist provisions?
– will that reduce the tariff and non-tariff barriers
The answer is NO.
Lutong luto ang ordinary pinoy – and the protected cronies are making money like shit.
As the oligarchs would say – go ahead and get crazy with your politics – that ensures you guys are distracted from understanding the crony captured economy and changing it to free and open markets.
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