Coir to help prevent Japan soil erosion

KOCHI: The versatile Indian coconut will help rebuild Japan. Coconut fibre or coir is used to produce geotextiles or permeable fabrics, which are a smart and popular way to prevent soil erosion, build roads and stabilise slopes due to the fabric’s substantial mechanical strength. The local coir industry believes export orders will swell in the next few weeks as Japan gets back on its feet.

The Coir Board is planning to write to the Indian Embassy in Japan and UN agencies to include Indian geotextiles made from coir for the reconstruction of roads and the strengthening of road and rail embankments when Japan begins to rebuild the tsunami-ravaged regions.

“Japan is fast becoming a strong buyer of Indian coir products. We are expecting increased enquiries for coir geotextiles from the country,” Coir Board marketing director Kumaraswamy Pillai said. Exporters share this optimism as geotextiles is the only 100% coir product that has shown an increase in export in the last five years. “Every year, the geotextile export is showing a growth of around 15% in both quantity and value,” said coir exporter Ponnambalam. The biggest buyer of the product is the US.