Coconut prices in Tamil Nadu, the third largest coconut producing state in the country, are expected to rise by around 10-15% in the coming months due to short supply and festival demand.
According to the latest report released by Domestic & Export Market Intelligence Cell (DMIC) attached to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), farm level price in Tamil Nadu would increase to Rs 5-5.5 per nut during August-September and the price is likely to move up further to Rs 5.75-Rs 6 per nut in October-November. The price outlook has been given as per the survey conducted in Pollachi (Tamil Nadu), a major coconut market in the country.
The demand-supply gap in the Indian coconut market has widened as coconut area in Kerala has been shrinking in the past few years, trade sources said. Kerala tops in coconut production in the country with an area under cultivation of 0.87 million hectare, followed by Karnataka with 0.40 million hectare and Tamil Nadu 0.37 million hectares. Coimbatore , Thanjavur, Dindigul, Kanyakumari, Vellore, Erode, Theni, Tirunelveli, Krishnagiri, Salem and Madurai districts are emerging as major coconut growing areas, accounting for 80% of the total area in Tamil Nadu.
The rising demand across the country has increased the supply of coconut from Tamil Nadu to other states?Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in particular. ?Sourcing of nuts from Tamil Nadu by these four states would increase in the next four months,? the DMIC report said.
As per statistics available with Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), area covered under coconut cultivation in India stands at 1.90 million hectare. The nut output in the country hovers around 14,744 million nuts per annum while the production of copra is in the range of 2.10 million tonne. The domestic consumption comprises 16,726 million nuts and 2.10 million tonne of copra per annum.
Only 35% of coconut produced in our country is used for extraction of oil but the entire coconut based economic activities are dictated by the price of coconut oil.
Due to the import of more than 80 lakh tonne of edible oil in the last oil year, the price of edible oilseeds in India has stagnated or showing a downward trend. Solvent Extractors? Association of India estimated that India will produce 6.6 lakh tonne of copra and 4.3 lakh tonne of coconut oil during 2009-10, which is 1.5% higher than that of the previous year.
