The Philippines is the world’s first exporter of malunggay oil that can be used as biodiesel.

Secura International, a 100 percent Filipino biotechnology company, has pioneered the sale of moringa oil, as malunggay oil is known globally, overseas.

The company had long been extracting oil from malunggay seeds and marketing it as edible oil and as a substance with multiple pharmaceutical applications.

Danny Manayaga, Secura International president and chief executive officer (CEO), said his company is seeking to complete the 500,000 hectares of malunggay plantations that can provide the demand for moringa oil as biodiesel feedstock for North American Biofuels, Inc., a US firm.

The company opted for mo-ringa oil and junked jatropha oil as biodiesel after testing a 100-kilo sample sent by Secura International.

"Tayo ang nangunguna. Ma-lunggay lang ang pag-asa natin," said Manayaga.

SECURA already has 30 sites nationwide, and are eyeing other areas in the south including Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Davao. Many areas of Ilocos, Pangasinan and Bohol may also be transformed into malunggay plantations, he added.

Manayaga stressed that India has over 350,000 hectares of farmland planted to malunggay but it is utilizing the so-called miracle tree as food, not as biodiesel.

India is one of the world’s biggest producers of jatropha oil, a poisonous plant that is endemic in that country, particularly in states that are semi-arid and have prolonged dry seasons.

Jatropha is known in the Philippines as "tuba-tuba" and its oil had been used as an alternative to diesel since World War II.

Manayaga said Brazil, South Africa and Australia have sought malunggay seeds from his company and moringa oil may soon find its way into these countries.

Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand are interested in malunggay and the appetite for its oil intensified after they learned its use as an alternative biodiesel.

"Nagpi-feedback sila sa amin. Pwede ba sila makabili buto diyan," Manayaga said.

Japan and South Korea are set to become the next biggest markets for moringa oil. "Because these markets are very near to us, we can deal with them and provide their requirements," he explained.

The promotion of malunggay as food, source of micronutrients and as biofuel was started by the Department of Agriculture–Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO), whose head, Director Alice Ilaga, had been urging farmers to cultivate malunggay as nutritious food and medication.

The discovery that malunggay oil can be an attractive source of biodiesel is a plus for us, said Ilaga.

Under normal circumstances, malunggay seedlings mature from one to two years while jatropha seedlings mature from three to five years.