MAITUM, Sarangani — Violeta Cuaresma, who owns a 1.3-hectare land devoted to coconut production, lives next to a store that buys coconut products. Brando Paras, who maintains a 5-hectare coconut farm, stopped hiring workers to harvest nuts. “It will be a blue Christmas for coconut farmers,” she said. Mariano Encarnacion, who maintains a hectare of coconut farm in Maitum, said he was shocked by the sharp decline in coconut prices. “Coconut farmers are grieving,” he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 17, 2018 21:33 UTC