Chinese coir mats made from Indian fibre may soon be a real threat as the communist nation takes home increasing quantity of coir fibre. According to estimates of the Coir Board, fibre exports to China have grown by more than 600% in just one year. Coir Board sources also confide that the nation has picked up the basics of manufacturing coir mats and may end up as a cheaper competitor to India.
Export of coir products has been the mainstay of Allepey, a tiny town in Kerala, which also has managed to get GI status (geographical Indicator) for manufacture of coir products. India exports annually Rs 600 crore worth of products made from coir.
China has been importing coir fibre and yarn from India for the past several years for manufacturing mattress, but rapid escalation in the last one year has surprised the trade, Coir Shippers Council Secretary KC Eapen said. He acknowledges that presently China was selling cheaper coir mats in the international market, but the volume was negligible. Coir Board sources point out that the sudden escalation of fibre exports is linked with the Beijing Olympics and the ever-increasing domestic consumption of the nation.
“But in the future Chinese products can be a threat to India as it is known to be good low-cost manufacturer of all products,” the Board sources said. For filling mattress, the quality of coir is not a problem and they can get it from other nations. Importing from India indicates that China is looking at the production of finer products, he said. The nation is also known to make garden materials from coir fibre.
Increasing fibre exports to China has helped the fibre de-husking industry in the Tamil Nadu stay alive. Dozens of defunct mills that depended on the consumption from Kerala have been revived swiftly and orders are pouring in. Sources in Tamil Nadu say that China requires 20,000 tonne of fibre per annum. They import latex from Malaysia and produce mattresses and flowerpots in huge quantities. Indian fibre has the qualitative advantage of being clean, long and fine.