Philippine coconut water exports for the first six months of 2011 are up 315 per cent year-on-year, reports Manila Standard Today.
Shipments of the drink – fêted for its health-giving properties – rose from 1.8m litres last year to 7.5m litres.
'The surge in demand is due to an ongoing hype of coco water being an emerging health drink,' Philippine coconut authority administrator Euclides Forbes told the paper.
Exports to the US registered the highest increase of 387 per cent compared to the prior year period, from 1.27m litres to 6.1m litres.
Shipments to Europe rose from 72,280 litres to 213,220 litres, while sendings to Asia-Pacific countries surged from 145,778 litres to 360,412 litres.
Exports to Central and Latin America, as well as the Middle East also shot up.
Coconut water is said to be rich in minerals, which, among other things, are believed to help strengthen muscles, delay fatigue and maintain normal heart function.
According to the report, two US drinks firms are interested in investing in the Philippines' coconut industry.
Expansion of the country's coconut plantations to meet growing global demand is currently being pushed through by the Philippines' Participatory Coconut Planting Project, the paper said.
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