N Sulawesi Exports 14,601 Tons Of CCO To U.S.

Manado, N Sulawesi, April 8 (Antara)- Up to March, the North Sulawesi province has exported 14,601 tons of crude coconut oil (CCO) to the United States, official has stated. "The export of 14,601 tons of crude coconut oil to the United States has generated US$16.9 million of foreign exchange to the province," North Sulawesi Trade and Industry Agency`s head of foreign trade Feby Karambut confirmed here on Tuesday. She pointed out that CCO was one of North Sulawesi`s prime commodities and had always dominated realized export figures in the markets of developed countries. "The crude coconut oil has so far been the mainstay commodity in North Sulawesi to generate foreign exchange," Feby asserted, adding that such a commodity will, in 2014, continue to dominate over the exports from the province because of increasing demand from other countries. According to her, the province has also exported 8 thousand tons of crude coconut oil to The Netherlands that generated US$9.6 million of foreign exchange. She noted that The Netherlands was known as the marketing center of North Sulawesi`s various prime commodities in Europe and, currently, demand growth was high for commodities such as crude coconut oil. Despite the increases, she explained that North Sulawesi was still managing to meet demands due to the presence of four big CCO manufacturing companies in Bitung city and in Amurang in the South Minahasa district.