Coconuts have been cultivated
in tropical climates for thousands of years,
and they produce some of the most expensive cooking oil,
often selling for 10 times the price of canola oil.
The coconut-oil industry is predicted to grow
by half a billion dollars worldwide
over the next four years.
But with the hotly contested health benefits
some coconut-oil companies promote,
should it be as expensive as it is?
So what's the truth behind coconut oil,
and why is it so expensive?
Its supposedly versatility
is the reason for its high price.
While coconut has a long tradition of use in food
and medicine across Asia,
its oil is the most valuable byproduct.
Here in the Philippines, where over 44%
of the world's coconut oil is produced,
coconut trees thrive in a long dry season.
But even with a bounty of coconuts at your fingertips --
assuming you can climb high enough --
the process of extracting the oil isn't easy.
[cow mooing]
Each coconut has a layer of husk surrounding its shell
that must be removed by hand.
Only then can it be cleaved in half
with a special tool called a bolo knife.
Narrator: In the Philippines,
14.8 million metric tons of coconuts
were harvested in 2019 alone,
and these were used to make
around 1.6 million metric tons of oil --
much of it exported to the US or Europe.
And by the time the coconut oil reaches the Western market,
the price for the product will have roughly doubled.
Even with the ideal growing conditions for the trees,
coconut oil has grown so popular
that farmers in the Philippines
struggle to meet the demand.
In recent years, the market for coconut oil
has surged in the West alongside a cultural shift
towards the search for natural, unprocessed products.
And coconut-oil manufacturers
were quick to capitalize on the sensation.
Consumption peaked in the US in 2009
at 598,000 metric tons,
and coconut oil quickly became
the mascot for a healthy lifestyle
as celebrities and bloggers adopted the product.
Proponents of coconut oil as a cure-all remedy
say that it can promote weight loss,
improve blood sugar,
and even slow the progression of Alzheimer's
because of its high levels of antioxidants.
But so far, all scientific studies
on the health benefits of coconut oil
have been inconclusive,
and nutritionists remain skeptical.
Some nutritionists say coconut oil
could actually do more harm than good.
Coconut oil is composed of
80% to 90% saturated fatty acid.
In 2017, the American Heart Association
issued an advisory against saturated fats
and specifically warned that coconut oil
increases cholesterol and should be avoided.
And soon after, the wholesale price
of coconut oil dropped by more than half.
But it's a dip that hasn't lasted,
and coconut oil's price is once again rising rapidly.
The oil has become a key ingredient in many products,
perhaps most recently alternative meats.
Both Beyond and Impossible burgers
are reliant on coconut oil,
and their surging popularity has increased demand.
But while coconut oil's popularity
shows no sign of slowing,
there's a looming problem for the coconut supply.
Some estimates say as many as 90%
of all coconut trees in Asia
are nearing the end of their productive cycle.
The majority of coconut plantations
across the Philippines were planted 40 or 50 years ago,
and many of the trees are now producing
as little as 10 coconuts a year,
rather than the 100 to 150 a healthy tree might.
Narrator: And the 10 liters that come from
all of these coconuts
would only fill up about 21 16-ounce jars
of coconut oil that you'd likely find at a supermarket.
Given it takes about 10 years
for a new coconut tree to fruit,
planting new trees is going to be crucial
to keep up with this soaring demand.
But despite these problems,
the market is poised to grow
by $518 million before 2024.