Weather improves - cost of coconuts will drop

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

The price of coconuts has soared due to the high cost of fertilizer and the adverse weather conditions said President Coconut Growers Association of Sri Lanka, Anton Fernando.

He said coconut production had dropped sharply due to the low application of fertilizer and the continuous rains of the past two months.

"The coconut yield in most estates had declined drastically due to lack of fertilizer. Coconut growers have been reluctant to manure plants due to the high cost of fertilizer", Fernando said.

Coconut production plummeted by around 50 percent during this year's lean season from October to March and will be around 2.6 billion nuts.

The country produces around 2.9 billion nuts a year while the requirement is around 3.5 billion nuts. A major share of the production is used for domestic needs and the rest by the desiccated coconut industry.

Fernando said a 50 kilogram bag of fertilizer is around Rs.3,000 and added that the Association had called upon officials to reduce the price of a 50kg bag as given to the tea sector.

"The farmgate price of a coconut is around Rs.30-32 but it is the middleman who makes a huge profit", he said.

The CGA head said the escalation of prices in the desiccated coconut and palm oil markets contributed to the surge in local coconut prices.

"The Weligama Wilt that caused severe damage to coconut cultivation in the South contributed to a certain extent to the price escalation", Fernando said.

He said the price of coconuts will drop in the next few days due to the improvement in the weather but also noted that the price will not fully stabilise till the end of the lean period.

Chairman, Coconut Development Authority, Sugath Handunge said the price of coconuts will drop within the next two weeks due to the good weather prevailing in the country.

He said coconuts will be distributed to all Sathosa outlets by the Coconut Cultivation Board at a nominal price and also nuts could be bought from lorries circulating in Colombo.

Coconuts imported from Kerala were expected in the market this week.

The governmnet decided to import coconuts to ease the shortage and address rising prices.

Coconut growers said the import of cocnuts would result in the spread of diseases similar to the Weligama Wilt that destroyed acres of cultivation in the South.

Coconuts, an export crop is cultivated across one million hectares in the country.

Felling of coconut trees have been banned by the governmnet in a move to preserve the high yielding crop.