Kerala wants govt to open up coconut oil export route

While the country has vegetable oil imports to the tune of 8 million tonne a year, it does not export coconut oil. Vegetable oil imports, including Palmolien, a coconut oil-substitute in cooking, have also shot up by 24.6% across last year.

"To counter the price fall of coconuts, the main option would be to encourage coconut oil exports. For this, we have sought Centre's help to ease regulations for export of coconut oil," chief minister Oommen Chandy told FE. "We have sought clearance for coconut oil exports through Indian ports without any regulations."

Apart from exploring the coconut oil export route, the state has also assured 2 kg of coconut oil a month to ration card holders in the state so that large scale oil extraction is encouraged. Another way to expand coconut oil use would be to peg it with the state's noon meal scheme. The Chandy government has asked its 13,000 schools and 29.000 anganwadis to use coconut oil for cooking mid-day meals for children.

The state also plans to set up a string of 1,000 tender coconut water parlours . As many as 100 of them will be set up within 2012, said state agriculture minister K P Mohanan. Each parlour would get a subsidy of R25,000 from the Coconut Development Board and state government.

The Kerala government got into a firefighting mode over coconut economy after the state's output from coconut shrank from R1,500 crore in 2010-2011 to R550 crore in 2011-2012.

All India Kisan Sabha, a farmer outfit, had last week demanded the same subsidy for coconut oil as given to palm oil. Sathyan Mokeri, general secretary, AIl India Kisan Sabha, alleges corruption in the procurement of copra from open market. "Copra should be procured directly from the farmers," he said.

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