Coir exports up on South Asia demand.

Kochi: Coir exports this fiscal seems to be on a healthy curve. With South Asian neighbours relentlessly lifting good volumes of coir raw materials from India, the slump in exports to traditional markets of US and European countries has been somewhat compensated off late.

According to latest figure released by the state-run Coir Board, exports in the first two months of current financial year that started in April is up by 80% in volume terms and 17% in value terms when compared to the performance of the same period last year.

In April-May 2010, India exported 62,181 tonne of coir materials and products valued at Rs 125.83 crore as against 34,513 tonne valued at Rs 107.20 crore during the same period of 2009-10.

In May alone, exports showed an increase of 61% in volume and 6% in value compared to May 2009.

In 2009-10 coir exports touched 2,94,508.05 tonne valued at Rs 804 crore, registering a growth of 47.31% in terms of volume and 25.64 % in value terms as against 1,99,924.94 tonne valued at Rs 639 crore exported during the corresponding period of the previous year.

“Increase in price of natural rubber and problems in European countries are a setback. Rubber is used widely as base material in coir mats and flooring,” KC Eapen, secretary of the Coir Shippers Council told FE.

The increased volume has come mainly from coir rope, fibre, rugs and curled coir exports. There has been a turnaround in rugs and carpets market after some months of slump. Coir rope exports has been the star performer May with volumes rising by 2,500% and value increasing by 4,071%.

Coir Board sources said huge quantities of coconut husk available in the Malabar region, which accounted for 60% of the Kerala’s coconut production, was being procured by neighboring Tamil Nadu which exported substantial quantities of fibre and coir pith, particularly to China. This has resulted in cost escalation coupled with shortage of raw materials in the home of coir at Alappuzha.

The Board has also urged the Union finance ministry to withdraw the recently imposed excise duty ranging of 10 to 16 % on coir and coir products in order to make these products competitive with other products in the domestic and overseas markets.

Source : Financial Express