Kota Kinabalu: Linaco Plantations (Sabah) Sdn Bhd Alex Yong reassured potential coconut farmers with sandy soil land where oil palm does not thrive well to venture to grow “the tree of life” where the nuts provide nutritious water, protein and carbohydrates flesh on which humans are able to survive on better on a desert island than eating oil palm fruit kernels in comparison.
Hence, with demands for coconut oil, husks, carbon etc., the price for coconuts does not fluctuate widely like palm oil affecting oil palm fruits yo-yoing between RM1,600 to RM600 per tonne as palm oil competes on the world ‘commodity oil market depending on the global commodity prices of its rival soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil etc.
Coconut oil will be welcomed by Malaysia’s oleochemical industries. For one ton of coconut oil production there are two to seven tons of valuable by-products produced.