India’s Coconut Product Exports Surge, Doubling in Four Years Despite Price Drop
Despite a decrease in prices, India has experienced significant growth in its coconut product exports this year. According to reports, in the fiscal year 2022-23, the country exported coconut products worth Rs 3,554.23 crore, marking an increase of Rs 318.23 crore compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the export value has doubled over the past four years. In FY 2019-20, India exported products worth Rs 1,762 crores.
Coconut shell-based activated carbon has emerged as the top-performing product in terms of both quantity and value, with exports totaling 1.5 tonnes valued at Rs 2,369.76 crore. This constitutes approximately 66.65 percent of the overall export value. Activated carbon plays a crucial role in cosmetics manufacturing, water purification, and air pollution control. Interestingly, most institutions manufacturing activated carbon are located outside of Kerala, but the state contributes significantly by providing a large quantity of coconut shells for carbon production. Reportedly, shell carbon worth Rs 60.82 crore was exported last year.
Coconut oil ranks second in terms of exports, alongside fresh and frozen grated coconut. Grated coconut worth Rs 168 crore was exported in the current fiscal year.
In contrast, coconut product imports have reached a five-year low in FY 2022-23. The country imported products worth Rs 457 crore, significantly lower than the previous year. The majority of these imports consisted of copra expeller cakes and desiccated coconuts. Additionally, there has been a substantial decline in coconut oil and copra imports.
Regarding value addition, despite a strong market for value-added products domestically and internationally, both the state and the country are falling behind in terms of production. According to the Coconut Development Board (CDB), only 69 percent of the coconuts produced in the country are utilized for commercial purposes. Out of this, 80 percent are converted into copra, while the remaining 20 percent are used for manufacturing value-added products.
