Even as the trend is to shunt coir products to the rear of commodity exports, mix with rubber - another Kerala commodity in the beating -- appears to have afforded a fresh lease of life to coir in the recent times. In 1998-1999, coir exports are up by eight Percent as against the previous year's increase of mere five percent.

The decision for coir is as much market-savvy as it is employment-generating, P K Misra, managing director, NCDC told The Financial Express. From the co-operative stables, coir is in the big league of export earners, he added, justifying the ministry of agriculture and co-operatives stepping in where the ministryof commodity has shied. Coir products bring in about Rs 250 crore-worth export revenue to the country.

A meeting of the state panel for the review and implementation for NCDC schemes on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram, reviewed by P K Misra had earmarked nearly 50 percent of Kerala's share from NCDC to developing the coir production infrastructure in the State. Rs. 49 crore has been sanctioned for two rubberised coir products manufacturing units proposed by Coirfed and Rubco, the two apex bodies of Kerala's co-operatives in coir and rubber respectively. A project for a central godown of Coirfed is to get Rs 4.73 crore.

Other projects cleared by the meeting include Rs 32.988 crore for an integrated powerloom project proposed by the Calicut Powerloom Industrial Co-operative Society, Rs 8.713 crore for 25 super markets, computerisation, godown and LPG bottling plant proposed by Kerala State Consumer Federation (Consumerfed) and Rs 27.86 crore for integrated fish development project, proposed by Matsyafed. Eventhough NCDC has proposed to provide Rs 100 crore to Kerala during the current financial year, Misra has said that this was flexible if there were more viable co-operative projects.

NCDC had consistently showered benovelence on Kerala, whenever the banking industry had refused to improve on the 47 percent credit-deposit ratio in the State. As in January 1999, Kerala has been given the second largest share from the NCDC's annual credit pool in January 2000 also. While last year, Uttar Pradesh had topped NCDC's credit portfolio, this year the position may go to Maharastra, Misra said.