The scarcity of packaged cooking oil in Gunungkidul is very difficult for the community. Even if there is stock, the price of cooking oil is observed to be very high compared to the normal price. However, in the midst of the scarcity of cooking oil, Gunungkidul Regency has the opportunity to develop coconut oil production. This was stated by the Head of Plantation and Horticulture, Gunungkidul Agriculture and Food Service, Luh Gde Suastini. According to her, there is enough coconut production in Gunungkidul so that it can be used as an opportunity in the midst of the scarcity of packaged cooking oil. Coconut production in Gunungkidul itself is high enough to allow the development of the industry. "Indeed, the amount of coconut production in Gunungkidul is quite high, most of the production is made into copra, for example, in 2021, the total coconut production reached 561,892 kilograms," she said.
As for the total area of coconut plantations in Gunungkidul in 2021, it is recorded as being 8,052.02 hectares. Kapanewon which has the largest coconut area is in Kapanewon Ponjong with 925 hectares. While the least land is in Kapanewon Ngawen with an area of 66 hectares. "For the amount or average production per hectare it reaches 109.46 kilograms," she added. From the data, the southern coastal area of Gunungkidul is the area that produces the most coconut production. Kapanewon Tanjungsari was recorded to have the highest production with 96,096 kilograms, while Kapanewon with the lowest production was Kapanewon Tepus with 3,400 kilograms. Of the total production, 305,034 kilograms were sold and the other 256,857 kilograms were consumed by the public. "As for the number of farmers in 2021, there were 55,134 families, the most in Kapanewon Saptosari as many as 8,458 families," She explained.
She said that previously there were a number of areas in Gunungkidul which were centers of coconut cooking oil production. However, this production began to erode as palm cooking oil became more massive in the market. In addition, nowadays people prefer to sell coconuts at a young age because they are more in demand for tourism needs. "Yes, this has become a challenge in itself to develop coconut cooking oil in Gunungkidul," She concluded.
