Coir exports up 20 per cent to 2.66 lakh tonnes in April-December 2011

NEW DELHI: Exports of coir and its products have risen by 20 per cent to 2.66 lakh tonnes in April-December 2011, the Coir Board of India said today.

In value terms, coir shipments rose by 11 per cent to Rs 633.26 crore in the same period, it said.

The country had exported 2.21 lakh tonnes of coir and its products worth Rs 568.97 crore in the year-ago period.

Coir, the outer coating of skin that encircles the conch of coconut, is used to make rope, mattress, rugs and carpets among others.

Coir product making is an important cottage industry, contributing significantly to the economy of the major coconut growing states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The government expects shipments of coir products to touch Rs 1,000 crore in 2011-12 on the back of growing demand from new markets like Russia and Latin America.

India exports coir and its products to over 97 countries across the world with the US being the largest market.

Countries like the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Australia, France, Spain, Canada, Japan, Greece, Sweden, South Africa, UAE, Portugal, and Denmark are the other major markets of coir and coir products.

Export of coir and its products from India had touched an all time high of 3.21 lakh tonnes valued at Rs 807.07 crore in 2010-11 financial year.

The Coir Board has set an export target of Rs 2,000 crore for the 12th Five-Year plan period (2012-2017).

India and Sri Lanka are two major coir producers in the world and account for around 90 per cent of about 3.50 lakh tonnes global production of the item.