THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state-run Kerafed is among the several commercial establishments in Kerala waiting for the Sabarimala pilgrimage to be back to normal. Coconut oil is among the favourite Kerala souvenirs that Sabarimala pilgrims from other states take home. A significant portion of the total sales is made by Kerafed’s ‘Kera double-filtered coconut oil’.
Sabarimala pilgrimage is the next big season for the Kerafed after the Onam and Pooja festival seasons. “The additional sales of Kera coconut oil during the Sabarimala pilgrimage season is 100-150 tonnes. Of the different types of packages, the 5-litre plastic can is the most preferred by pilgrims,” Kerafed managing director N Ravikumar said.
Kerafed ensures the product’s presence at all destinations connected with the Sabarimala pilgrimage like Guruvayoor and Sree Padmanabhaswami temples. The agency markets its products through an organised supply chain comprising 160 major dealers.“Due to the floods, we could not set up a stall at Pampa this year. But, as in the previous years, shops near transit camps and major temples en route to Sabarimala will sell our product,” he said. The Pampa stall used to fetch Rs.5 crore - Rs.6 crores for the Kerafed a year.
“Not just sales, the pilgrimage season is an opportunity for us to introduce the product to customers of other states. This will help in our expansion plans in other south Indian states,” he said. At present, the Kerafed has supply networks in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and a couple of cities in Andhra Pradesh. Besides the top-selling coconut oil, the PSU’s other products are Kesamrith herbal hair oil, Kera coconut milk powder and Kera desiccated coconut.