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ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka plans to expedite a programme to develop king coconut cultivation as an export crop as demand has outgrown supply, meeting only 10 percent of global demand, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.
The Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka (CRI), the Coconut Cultivation Board, and the Coconut Development Authority, all of which come under the purview of the Agriculture Ministry, will work together in this regard, Amaraweera said.
Speaking at an event on Sunday February 25, the minister said the ministry has identified the king coconut as an export crop that can boost foreign exchange earnings for Sri Lanka.
“The variety of king coconut grown here is not available anywhere else in the world. There may be coconuts of this colour in other regions, but this particular king coconut is only grown here.
“There is huge demand from the Dubai market. The competition is not with another country. The competition has been created by our own people,” he said.
According to Amaraweera, not enough coconuts are grown to meet the current demand, with the supply meeting no more than 10 percent of the international demand.
“There is great demand from other countries, especially the Middle East. But we’re unable to supply. So we plan to expand king coconut cultivation as a priority soon,” he said.
A king coconut from Sri Lanka sells for the equivalent of 2,500 rupees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) coastal regions, the minister said, adding that efforts are under way to see if local farmers can get a significant portion of these margins.
In December, Minister Amaraweera said announcing the programme that, due to the establishment of a regulatory system by the Coconut Development Authority, a king coconut fetches about 0.8 dollars (roughly 296 rupees) at the UAE’s port.
Sri Lanka exports 252,000 king coconuts a week to the UAE, a government information department statement said in December. “Last year we earned 2 billion rupees from exporting king coconuts, and this year the expected income is 6 billion rupees.” (Colombo/Feb26/2024)
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