KOCHI: Each adversity carries with it the seed of a greater benefit. Coconut farmers, who’ve sailed through hard times, have at last got something to cheer about. The retail price of coconut has touched an all-time high of `60 per kg and strong signals from the market indicate the upward trend will continue for a while.For over a decade, coconut farmers in Kerala had been trying to stay afloat, battling scarcity of coconut climbers, less productivity due to pest attacks and low prices. Many of them switched to rubber cultivation. But good times have come calling. The farmers have cut the middlemen out and are getting `45 per kg of coconut now.
“Multiple factors contribute to the spiralling prices. Around 30 coconut processing companies have come up across Kerala and they’re procuring the nuts in huge quantities. Low productivity and decrease in arrival of coconut from Tamil Nadu triggered a spike in price. It’s good for our farmers,” said Alappuzha Krishi Vigyan Kendra head and senior scientist P Muralidharan.
Trader Velanchira Sukumaran, who bagged the tender for collecting coconuts offered by devotees at Sabarimala, said the dip in production and increasing consumption triggered the price hike.
“Spread of diseases due to pest attack has affected coconut production in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Many processing units have come up in both states and they’re offering farmers a good deal. After the Sabarimala season, we were expecting a dip in price, but it’s spiralling due to increase in demand. It may go up further by the third week of February,” said Sukumaran.
Onattukara Coconut Producer Company CEO Remani Gopalakrishnan said it was not able to work at full potential due to scarcity of coconut.“We’ve an installed capacity to process 10,000 tonnes of copra daily. For this, we need 70,000 coconuts. We don’t procure it from Tamil Nadu as they harvest seven-month- old coconut. The coconut needs 12 months to ripen. At present, to rate to process copra to extract one litre of oil will alone come to `240. We’re selling coconut oil at `280 per litre and Kerafed at `260. Of course, the increase in coconut processing units and exports have contributed to the hike in demand,” said Remani.