coconut oil processing guyana experience. -...
TRANSCRIPT
COCONUT OIL PROCESSING
GUYANA EXPERIENCE.
Prepared & Presented by: Asraf Narine – Marketing & Quality Control Manager
Pomeroon Oil Mill Inc.
Date: December 15, 2016
Coconut Niche Product Workshop.
Background Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the Kernel or Meat of matured coconuts
harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera).
It has various applications; food, medicine, and cosmetics, lubricant, just to name a few.
Not so long ago, many organizations, especially Health ones advised against the consumption of high amounts of Coconut Oil due to its high levels of saturated fat. This however, was accelerated through the negative publicity that was placed on the product through marketing by competing businesses. One big negative used was that of coconut oil’s high saturated fat content and marketing agencies and businesses used that to link the product to Bad Cholesterols and Heat Diseases which propel the decline of consumption of the product.
Today, this is reversing due to studies done on the product and the factual benefits found. This has allowed for optimism in the Industry and its’ stakeholders are welcoming the “New Buzz” as market demands keep increasing.
In Guyana, coconut oils (RBD & VCO) is slowly making its way back. However
some consumers are still reluctant to use the product due to their perception
of the product as was negatively marketed.
Consumers are also very price conscious and as a results use cheaper
imported oils.
However, on the other hand, exports are in high demands and manufactures’
faces a steep ladder to find raw materials due to neglect of the coconut
industry (both private & government sectors); resulting in under productive
plantations, non-existent source of clean planting materials and competition
for raw materials; fresh water nuts and dry coconuts for exports.
Coconut Oil Processing in Guyana
Coconut Oil production in Guyana is mainly done via traditional methods i.e. “the
bottom house method”.
This method is known to most rural Guyanese. It includes the use of “Crude
Machinery” where the Meat of the Coconut is grated, washed with water,
squeeze/pressed, leave to settled, fermented fat at the top skimmed off and
then boiled in vats (cooking pots) to recover the oil from the washing process. In
this process lots of residual coconut meat remains, and this is further
squeeze/pressed to extract as much oil as possible. Then reaming boiled meat
which contained lots of fat and is fed mainly to pigs. The oil extracted from this
process is mainly used for cooking and application on skin & hair.
The other methods used to produce coconut oil are VCO & RBD methods.
Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is produce by the used of fresh coconut meat and milk. Producing it from the fresh meat involves removing the shell and washing,
then either wet-milling or drying the residue, and using a screw press to extract
the oil. VCO can also be extracted from fresh meat by grating and drying it to
a moisture content of 10–12%, then using a manual press to extract the oil.
Producing it from coconut milk involves grating the coconut and mixing it with
water, then squeezing out the oil. The milk can also be fermented for 36–48
hours, the oil removed, and the cream heated to remove any remaining oil.
Refined Bleach and Deodorized (RBD) oil is made from dried coconut kernel (Copra). Copra is dried in direct sunlight and/or kiln to remove the moisture
within the meat. The copra is then desiccated (Chop up) and placed through
a heated Expeller Press where the oil is extracted. The Oil here is Crude Oil and
is filtered, tested for Free Fatty Acids (FFA) content and batched processed,
where Refining will take palace.
This “crude” coconut oil is not suitable for consumption because it contains
contaminants and must be refined with further heating and filtering.
The first step is the removal of the FFA’s through the use of Caustic Soda,
followed by Bleaching with Activated Fullers’ Earth; which allows for the
stabilization of the color and finally; Deodorization which is done at 200 Degrees
Centigrade to allow for stripping of the oil volatile components and odors.
Further filtering is done before bottling.
Unlike virgin coconut oil, refined coconut oil has no coconut taste or aroma. RBD
oil is used for home cooking, commercial food processing, and cosmetic,
industrial, and pharmaceutical purposes.
Own Experience - POM’s Way of Processing of Coconut Oil
POM has been producing Crude and RBD Coconut Oil since 1999 for both the local
and export markets. The process is as was described above and illustrated below.
Processing Copra for Oil.
Source Copra FarmersTransport to
Processing
Plant
Store Copra @
Processing Plant
Processing Copra
Desiccated
Expeller Pressed
through a heating
process – Crude
Oil is Produce
Crude Oil is filtered
and tested for FFA
content batched
processed
Removal of the
FFA through the
use of Caustic
Soda
Bleaching with
Activated
Fullers’ Earth
Deodorization
which is done at
200 Degrees
Centigrade
Filtering
of OIL Bottling &
Packaging
Marketing &
Distribution
During the years of processing, POM was able to take away some key pointers
that influences the quality of the Oil produced;
1) Nuts for Oil should be at least 12 months and the best varieties to use are
the 5 years and the bastards.
2) Copra must be dried; in Guyana, this is either Sundried or Kiln Dried and
depending on the production process the quality of copra will
determines the refinery losses. Sundried copra is of a higher quality.
3) Storage; it POM’s experience that is best to keep the dried Copra away
from moisture and stored in a cool, dry, well ventilated place and any
foreign odors. However, these are not always achieved, since raw
materials are sourced from different suppliers, all of whom have his/her
challenges; mainly transportation and storage.
Other challenges exits are 1) not enough raw materials; this is as a result of
abundant and underproduction of farms (main reasons; negative publicity
Coconut Oil received and Better Paid Jobs e.g. Mining) and 2) Little or No
support from key stakeholders’ e.g. Government.
However, the challenges did not restricted POM and when commenced its
operation bridged most of these gaps e.g. have its own transportation to go by
the farmer to collect their Copra, onsite inspection and grading before
procurement are made, packaged in clean bags and investment in POM’s own
farms.
For the Negative Publicity, POM have a continuous development approach and
tries the best to meet customers/consumers demands and as well as regulatory
requirements. When commenced its operation, coconut oil was already been
influenced by the negative publicity, but the then CEO wanted to obtained
better markets for his and other farmers produce and decided that processing
for both crude and refined coconut oil will aid in this.
POM firstly marketed its produce branded, “Vegetable Oil” as a result of
consumers’ demands and marketing campaigns promoting vegetables oils;
soya and corn as superior to coconut oils. After some years on the market, POM
took the brand off in 2006 as cheaper imported oils dominated the locally
market. However, POM still continued to export its crude oil which was able to
sustain the company.
Given the “New Buzz” of coconut oil, POM re- launched its Brand in 2013,
acknowledging the Coconut Oil present, branding it; “Golden Brook Coconut
Oil”. The focus was on the health benefits. Today POM enjoys a decent share on
the local market, with a steady increase. Exports are also looking up as POM’s;
Golden Brook Coconut Oils can be found in; Suriname, Jamaica, Barbados,
Dominica and interest in Trinidad, St. Lucia, and USA.
State, Challenges and Opportunities of
Coconut Oil in Guyana Currently, Coconut Oils occupied a very small segment of the Oil market in
Guyana, mostly dominated by the “Bottom House” operations quality of
coconut oil. This is cheaper than industrial manufacturing such as POM’s and
customers are happy to pay the cheaper prices more so because of their
limited spending power. However, customers are slowing recognizing better
quality and packaged products as increase can be seen in sales at POM.
Most Customers/Consumers still believes that Coconut Oils are not good to use
in your diet and can only be concluded that this is as a result of the negative
marketing. They believed that it should be used only on Hair & Skin. Also, the
demographic is of the older age group, since young people thinks that
coconut oils will make them smell like coconuts, food taste like coconut and
even make get diarrhea.
Major Challenges Aged Trees – Some between 60-100 years old.
Pest & Diseases – Red Palm Mites heavily impacting production.
High Prices – Compared to Competing Brands.
Stigma to Coconut Oils – Negative Publicity
Limited Raw Materials - Abundant & Underdeveloped Coconut Farms,
Competition from other coconut products e.g. Fresh and Bottled Coconut,
Fresh/Dry Coconut for Export.
Access to Finance for Small & Medium Scale farmers.
Limited or No Planting Materials to Replant.
Taxes; Import duties, VAT, etc.
Limited/Slow Support from Government.
Need for Internationally recognized Standards; HACCP, USFDA and ISO.
Supply Chain Management.
Opportunities
Coconut Oils as mentioned earlier is the “New Buzz” around the world and we
have been receiving lots of attention from external markets. Request are now
been made for large quantities of Virgin Coconut Oil, Refined Coconut Oils
and even Coconut Cosmetic Oils.
Globally, there has been an increase in coconut oils consumption; in cooking
of foods, medicines, cosmetics; soaps, shampoo etc. These are all positive signs
of a prosperous industry in the very near future. Also, increases can be seen in
demands/consumptions for Coconut Milk/Cream and Desiccated Coconuts.
However, to service and sustain these markets a TEAM approach needs to be
taken on, where all the stakeholders (Government, its Agencies and Private
Sector) understands and accepts their roles.
A start has been made through the National Stakeholders’ Platform, thanks to ITC and CARDI. The Platform has also received positive response from the
Ministry of Agriculture in Guyana of their support, now it’s to actual put this into
practice. The Platform will also be transform into the Coconut Authority/Broad,
which will work with Government to bring development and address the needs
of the coconut Industry.