The Philippines is only next to Indonesia in the production of almaciga resin which is internationally traded as Manila copal. The production centers of almaciga resin mainly comes from Regions 2, 4 and 8, with Region 4 contributing to as much as 75% of the total production of 297,830 kgs. From 1990-2003, the production of Manila copal reached as much as 8.83 million kg, or an average of 631,000 kg per year. Out of this, about 49% or 311,000 kg (valued at US$ 225,000.00) average resin per year were exported to such countries as Taiwan, Hongkong, and Germany.

Five (5) types/grades of almaciga resins are available in Palawan. These are the extra white, white, mix white, assorted grade and bunga-bunga, exudates that are formed in broken damaged branches but only available in limited quantity. The resin types/ grades common in Samar are the white (“bug-os na busag”), mix/black (“diri bug-as”) and powdered. Prices of graded resins from Palawan and Samar ranges from Php5 to 12/kg (Table 1).

Table 1. Prices of graded resin in Palawan and Samar (2003).

Manila copal is used in the manufacture of textile paint, pesticides, wax and polishing material, and photogravure. In some villages/communities the resin is used as fuel for lamps and torches. It is also used as smudge for mosquitoes or believed to drive away bad spirits in their houses. The demand for raw materials of resins is driven by the consumption of the furniture, construction and handicraft industries.

Manila/gum elemi on the other hand, is the trade name for the soft, fragrant exudates obtained from the trunk of piling-liitan (Canarium luzonicum), pagsahingin (C. asperum), pili (C. ovatum) and dulit (C. hirsutum). It is mainly used by the fragrance industry after distillation of its essential oils. Occasionally, it is utilized similar to Manila copal to give toughness and elasticity to the dried film of the paints and varnish. Tapping of Canarium spp. as a livelihood is common in areas where they naturally abound. They are commonly found in the provinces of Quezon, Bicol, Marinduque, Masbate, Romblon and Samar. The FMB statistics (2003) have recorded the resin production only for 1990 and 1996 amounting to 8,000 and 13,000kgs.

Manila/gum elemi resins are continually exported to France, where the resins are presumed to be principally used for fragrance purposes. France is reported as the top Philippine export market accounting for up to three quarters of the total elemi exports in 2003. Germany is the second biggest market while exports to Japan also increased slowly but significantly.. Eight (8) other potential export markets were reported since 1999 which include China (Hongkong and Taiwan), Spain, Switzerland, United kingdom, Czechoslovakia, Turkey and Korea (Table 2).

Table 2. Resin export of Manila copal and Manila elemi/Elemi gum, 1990-2003

Source: Philippine Forestry Statistics, FMB 2003
*Computed values