Coconut exports surge on poor Lankan output

KOCHI: India is reaping the benefits of a slump in coconut exports from Sri Lanka. An unprecedented export demand from the Gulf and other Asian countries has led to the entry of more players into India’s export sector. “Sri Lanka has imposed a ban on the export of coconuts, possibly to control the local prices of the product. As a result, the global focus has shifted to Indian coconuts which are superior in quality,” said Kamlesh Shah, proprietor of the Mumbai-based agro commodities exporter Kunal Corporation, which has started exporting coconuts from this season.

In fact, the Coconut Development Board (CDB) has received over 20 additions to its list of registered exporters. Clearly, major export houses engaged in the shipment of various commodities are finding coconut export a lucrative business, said a CDB official. Sri Lanka has been the main competitor to India in the export of coconut and its products. But exports from Lanka have been hit by a sharp shortfall in production. And Sri Lanka’s loss has turned out to be India’s gain.

Exporters have not been hampered by the fact that the unusual demand and a poor production in major producing states such as Kerala have lifted the prices of coconut and its chief products, copra and coconut oil, to historic highs.

“We have been sourcing coconuts at a rate of Rs 13.50 or more for a nut, which is at least Rs 4 to Rs 5 higher than the previous year,” pointed out Sajith, general manager of Fair Exports India, which supplies coconuts to the Lulu supermarkets in the Gulf countries. “We buy large coconuts weighing 500 gram or more and sell it in the shredded form for use in curries. We require over 1 crore nuts a year. Despite the close of the Pongal and Sabarimala pilgrimage season, we are finding it difficult,’’ he said.