Eastern Visayas coconut industry loses P400M to ‘Frank’

By Joey A. Gabieta Visayas Bureau TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines -- The coconut industry in Eastern Visayas lost over P400 million when typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen) damaged more than 14 million coconut trees in the region, the Philippine Coconut Authority regional office said. PCA-8 regional manager Edilberto Nierva said on Friday that of the region's six provinces, only Northern Samar’s coconut plantations were spared the wrath of the typhoon. The region has more than 660,000 coconut farmers. Leyte sustained the most damage at P175 million, with its more than 10 million trees affected and around 476,000 farmers incurring losses, Nierva said. The typhoon destroyed around four million coconut trees in Eastern Samar valued at P257 million, affecting the livelihood of 156,000 farmers, he added. In Biliran,... [read full story]