Felling of coconut trees banned

Dinesh De Alwis

The Government has banned the felling of coconut trees with immediate effect. The relevant gazette has been sent to the Government Press and the ban will be effective after the gazette has been issued, said Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development Minister Jagath Pushpakumara.

He was addressing a media briefing yesterday at the Government Information Department. The Ministry has taken this decision under the provisions of the Coconut Development Act No.46 of 1971. Under the Act,the relevant Minister has the right to take such a decision to protect the coconut cultivation, he further said.

Meanwhile the Minister said that the ban will not apply to coconut trees affected by the Coconut Leaf Wilt disease in Weligama.

The approval for felling of any coconut trees should be obtained from Coconut Cultivation Board officers.

“Due to various reasons coconut production has reduced.

This is a burning issue. We have taken several steps to reduce coconut prices. Two weeks ago the price of a coconut was Rs 60 but now it has come down to between Rs 45-50.

The imported coconuts will reach the market soon. Several store houses are prepared to store these coconuts,” the Minister said. Currently there are 64 million coconut trees in the country.

Sri Lanka’s annual coconut production is 2,700 million nuts and the Ministry expects to increase this up to 3500 million nuts.