42 per cent increase in exports of coconut based products

COLOMBO: The export volume of coconuts and coconut based products during the first quarter of this year has registered a 42 per cent increase when compared to the corresponding period last year.

Three main factors had contributed towards this remarkable increase, said a spokesman for the Plantation Industries Ministry.

They are the imparting of harvesting technology to cultivators by the Coconut Research Institute, State regulations preventing fragmentation of coconut lands below 10 acres in extent and the timely pest control programs conducted by the Plantation Industries Ministry.

The spokesman added that according to a survey by the Coconut Research Institute the annual per capita consumption of coconut and coconut oil amounted to 90 to 100 nuts and 05 to 08 bottles respectively. The total annual production amounted to 2900 million nuts of which 80 percent was utilised for local consumption.

The total exports of coconut and coconut based products during the first quarter of this year amounted to 14,587 metric tons bringing Rs. 3,216 million in foreign exchange earnings.