MANILA: Exports of coconut oil from the Philippines, the world's biggest supplier, more than doubled last month, boosted by delayed July shipments, an industry group said on Tuesday.

Shipments of the vegetable oil used in food, detergents and biofuels totalled 84,800 tonnes in August compared with 40,953 tonnes in the same month last year, preliminary figures from the United Coconut Associations of the Philippines (UCAP) showed.

The August volume exceeded this year's monthly average shipment of 55,224 tonnes and included delayed July shipments totalling 15,000 tonnes, UCAP said in its monthly report.

Coconut oil exports in January-August, however, were down almost 40 percent from a year earlier at 496,323 tonnes due to tight supplies, it said.

Still reeling from damage to about a tenth of its estimated 340 million coconut trees from Super Typhoon Haiyan late last year, the Southeast Asian country has sought to contain a scale insect infestation that early this year affected more than 2 million trees.

The industry group retained its estimate of a 24.5 percent drop in coconut oil exports this year at 850,000 tonnes.