Coconut sugar, which has a low glycemic index (GI), is seeing rising interest in the Western world. The world’s biggest coconut sugar producers are Indonesia and the Philippines. Coconut sugar is a natural sugar made from the sap of cut flower buds of the coconut palm. It is different from palm sugar (also known as gula java and gula melaka), which comes from the sugar date palm.
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| Google Trends – 30 November 2015 |
Google Trends data shows there is a strong interest in coconut sugar in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US. According to a SNV Netherlands report, Indonesia has more than 100,000 coconut sugar producers and they collectively produce more than 600,000 metric tonnes of coconut sugar annually or over 50,000 tonnes a month. Most of the output is consumed locally. Organic-certified coconut sugar is usually exported as it fetches a premium in international markets.
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| Google Trends – 30 November 2015 |
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| Google Trends – 30 November 2015 |
PT Intrafood – Singabera brand (TEI 2015) – USDA Organic
Coco Green Farm – SIAL InterFood 2015 – USDA Organic
The growing interest over healthy natural sweetener will likely to continue to benefit Indonesian coconut sugar, particularly organic certified coconut sugar. The local market can be tapped as well to replace stevia, which as a strong aftertaste, with something more local such as coconut sugar.
