Coconut production to drop owing to high fertiliser costs
Coconut production is set to come down by at least 20 per cent this year, gradually go down further and drop by another 30 per cent in three years as a result of the current bad trends of inadequate fertiliser and the spread of a killer leaf disease.
Emeritus Prof. Deepal Matthew, Executive Committee Member of the Coconut Growers Association, told the Business Times that today the coconut industry is in a bad way and that more problems for the sector might surface in a couple of years time.
He noted that there will be a gradual drop in coconut production with this year likely to record a 20 per cent drop and in three years time it will be a 30 per cent drop.
But theoretically and scientifically it is believed that without fertiliser which has been lacking now for the past three years the crop is expected to have a drop in production by 50 per cent, he explained.
Fertiliser though available today is currently uneconomical to apply to the crop at the current prices as a result of which the government will have to subsidise the chemicals, he said.
The Coconut Research Institute (CRI) and coconut growers have estimated that at current fertiliser prices the cost of production will be around Rs.65-70 per nut. This is not economical for the growers since the farm gate price is at Rs.65 and market value is Rs.100 with the increase in transport costs.
This will lead to most smallholders resorting to non-application of fertiliser and as a result the crop production will decrease in three years according to CRI scientific estimates, to about 30-50 per cent. Already fertiliser has not been applied for the past three years in most large sale plantations and this year they will be seeing a drop in production that will continue to slide, Prof. Matthew said. Around 40 per cent of coconut lands are not fertilised which comprise the large scale producers and they will be adversely impacted by the high cost of fertiliser.
Meanwhile a white leaf disease spread by insects that is found on the underside of the leaf is hard to be treated since the proper equipment is not available for spraying these chemicals that have been recommended, Prof. Matthew said.
Previously, the problem was severe in Anuradhapura but now it has spread to Kurunegala as well and without the required chemical the plant will have to be cut down. But this too is not viable as growers will have to pay a price for doing so.
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