Determinants of Philippine Prawn and Coconut Oil Exports

Prawn and coconut oil are traditional export commodities of the Philippines. They are mainly exported to Japan, the United States, and the Netherlands. This study assessed the effects of domestic production and income, domestic and export prices, foreign exchange rate, and trade agreements on the volume of Philippine exports of these two commodities to the top destination countries . The trade agreements focused on the Japan- Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement in the case of prawn, and the country‟s accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, now the World Trade Organization, for coconut oil. Multiple regression analysis was employed to determine the factors affecting export volume. Problems and challenges in the local industries and export markets were identified, and recommendations to improve the export demand of Philippine prawn and coconut oil were also provided.