Coconut…….lovely coconuts
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A neighbourhood radio was blaring the song ‘Pol….pol..…pol….pol… pol…..pol…pol…pol lankawe wathuwala wavena pol’, a perennial favourite by baila king, the late M.S. Fernando.
Inspired by this song, the trio under the margosa tree was deep in conversation about coconuts.
This is how the conversation progressed: “Have coconut prices come down (Pol gedi wala mila adu welada),” asked Serapina.
“Not really, it is also rising like the cost of living (Nae. Eh milath wedi wenawa jeevana viyadama wage),” replied Mabel Rasthiyadu.
“Maybe because we are also exporting coconuts. Sri Lanka’s coconut products are famous abroad (Api pol pita rata arina hinda wenna puluwan. Lankawe pol walin hadana deval, pita rata hari prasiddai ne),” said Kussi Amma Sera.
Some of our most popular coconut products that are exported are desiccated coconut, coconut water and coconut oil in addition to some others.
Like the conversation under the margosa tree, the export of coconut products has also had a deep impact on local prices. The coconut industry was also the topic of conversation when Kalabala Silva, the often-agitated academic, called on Thursday for our regular weekly chat.
“I say….I heard the government saying that it was planning to expand coconut growing in other non-coconut producing areas,” he said.
“That’s a good move because it would increase production, help local prices and foster growth in exports,” I said.
“The problem in the growth of coconut lands is its fragmentation as owners of coconut land sometimes find it more profitable to break up the land into small plots and sell it for other development, particularly housing,” he said.
“That has been a problem for many years now. If the government focuses on encouraging exports through various incentive schemes while meeting local demand, I’m sure owners of coconut lands will think twice before selling off their lands,” I said.
Last year, coconut product exports totalled US$400.3 million, down from $425.2 million in 2021, making up just 3.4 per cent of exports of all agriculture and industrial products.
But according to the Central Bank’s annual report for 2022, the coconut sector registered its highest ever annual production in 2022, due to the favourable weather conditions that prevailed during 2021 and 2022.
Total nut production increased to 3,391 million nuts in 2022, recording a year-on-year increase of 8.7 per cent, over the notable increase of 11.7 per cent recorded in 2021. The increase in production was largely supported by well-distributed rainfall from 2021 coupled with the ideal air temperature in the main coconut growing areas, the report said.
These favourable effects outweighed the immediate negative impact of limited application of chemical fertilisers on coconut cultivation during 2022.
Along with the increased nut production, coconut-based products also witnessed an improvement during the year. Accordingly, the production of desiccated coconut increased by 5.2 per cent, year-on-year, to 35,030 metric tonnes from 33,289 metric tonnes recorded in 2021. Coconut oil production increased notably by 59.4 per cent, year-on-year, to 68,590 metric tonnes in 2022, reflecting the restrictions imposed on the importation of both coconut oil and palm oil and the availability of adequate nuts for oil production.
While coconut growing has traditionally been in Puttalam, Kurunegala and Gampaha, with these three towns referred to as the ‘Coconut Triangle’, there are new efforts to expand coconut production in the north.
Plantations Minister Ramesh Pathirana, at a recent event, said that a second coconut triangle is planned in the northern province in areas like Jaffna, Mannar and Mullaitivu.
He said exports of coconut products, with increasing production, are expected to generate an ambitious $700 million and the goal is to achieve a $2 billion dollar export income within the next decade. Currently, two-thirds of coconut production is utilised locally, leaving only one-third for exports, he said.
At a recent meeting with coconut growers, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said the coconut industry’s progress over the last 50 years has not been satisfactory, contrasting it with other countries such as Brazil and Vietnam that have rapidly advanced in coconut cultivation.
He said while coconut land use is reducing – due to many other reasons – the current situation of coconut farmers in Sri Lanka is that 82 per cent of them own less than 20 acres of land, while only 18 per cent are engaged in large-scale cultivation. Comparatively, India, which started coconut cultivation with approximately 20 million acres of land in 1950, now has around 45 million acres dedicated to coconuts.
He noted the significant difference in coconut yield and productivity between Sri Lanka and neighbouring regions in India like Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal. While Sri Lanka’s coconut production stands at 7,000 nuts per acre, these regions are achieving much higher yields, such as 11,400 coconuts per acre in Tamil Nadu and 10,000 coconuts per acre in Telangana. In the Andhra region, coconut cultivation yields around 15,000 coconuts per acre, which is twice the output here in Sri Lanka.
To encourage coconut production in the north, it is important to emphasise that a sizable percentage of this effort should be directed at farmers in the north itself unlike in the past where outsiders moved in and reaped the fruits of development.
Local communities should be brought into the effort and encouraged, with government support, to grow coconut trees and benefit from this progress.
At the conclusion of the near 30-year armed conflict, the north saw an influx of businessmen and businesses from the south taking advantage of the benefits of a region free of conflict. That led to frustration by local communities and businesses in the region though the situation has improved now with local businesses also developing. Therefore, under this new venture, local communities need more support to help develop coconut lands.
Currently the traditional Coconut Triangle represents more than 50 per cent of the country’s coconut production.
As I keyed in my final words in this week’s column, Kussi Amma Sera brought in my second mug of tea, humming ‘Pol…pol…pol…’. I smiled at her and reflected on the latest engagement of the government to enhance the production of coconuts in the north, with the hope that it would ensure local communities thrive from this exercise.
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