Going “nuts over nuts”
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When the coconut was ‘king’ many decades ago, it was so ubiquitous that a night club at a well-known hotel in Colombo was named ‘The Coconut Grove’. The late baila maestro M.S. Fernando regaled his fans with the popular song ‘Pol-pol-popol-pol-pol-pol – Lankawe wathuwala wawena pol (Coconuts grown in the gardens of Sri Lanka)’, with many homes having one or two coconut trees.The coconut for cooking needs and that delicious ‘pol sambol’ came from the home garden and people rarely ventured out to buy coconuts from shops. Those were the days indeed.
But wait! We have some good news – coconut export earnings have surged this year, for the first time, crossing the US$ 1 billion mark in the 10 months ending October 2025. The earnings are projected to end 2025 with a total of $ 1.2 billion – nearly matching tea export earnings which are set to record $ 1.4 billion in 2025. Coconut export earnings in 2024 were about $ 800 million. The latest, projected data for coconut export earnings in 2025, show a near 48 per cent increase from 2024.
Not bad for a crop that was initially and largely considered to be just for household use, now turning in an equally important performance compared to tea, once considered the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s economy. Another plantation crop – rubber recorded earnings of $ 1 billion in 2024.
As I was crunching the numbers pertaining to coconut data, the home phone rang this Thursday morning. I was a bit annoyed, as figuring out data and statistics is time-consuming research. However I relaxed a bit when I realised it was Pedris Appo – short for Appuhamy – a retired agriculture expert into farming, who was calling. Maybe I could discuss coconut issues with him, I thought.
“I was wondering whether you have been following the US strikes on various countries these past few days,” he asked. “To some extent, but can we discuss coconut issues as I am in the midst of a column on this key product? For example, is the coconut industry seeing new developments in Sri Lanka,” I asked. “It is. In fact I have also grown more coconut trees on my land,” he said. “So the ‘king of the crop’ is returning to its once, hallowed place in Sri Lankan society,” I said. “The advantage with the coconut tree is that it has much more use than any other crop in Sri Lanka,” he added.
Coconut is often referred to as the tree of life owing to its many uses. Firstly, there is the coconut water and the kernel, then there is coconut oil, coconut coir used for construction and ornamental use, its branches are used for thatching roofs; husk and leaves are said to be sources of natural dyes, and in some cases coconut oil is used for medicinal purposes.
Coconut exports might eventually beat tea, if a government proposal to target $ 2.5 billion in coconut export revenue by 2030 is achieved. For this purpose, more land is being brought under coconut cultivation, particularly in new areas like Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Mannar with the creation of the ‘Northern Coconut Triangle’. This is increasing coconut land through new cultivations of 36,000 acres.
In recent decades, coconut land has led to a lot of fragmentation, particularly for new housing and other land use. However, the Coconut Development Board (CDB), according to officials, had planned in 2024 to reclaim and develop 500,000 acres. There was no immediate information as to whether this target was achieved.
The total acreage of coconut land was 1.095 million in 2024 while in 1962 it was 1.152 million, giving an indication of the fragmentation of such land over the years. However, despite the unchanged land extent, total nut production rose to 2.7 billion in 2024, compared to 2.4 billion in 1970.
Bogged down with statistics, data and mind-boggling research, I ventured towards the kitchen to take a break. There were piping hot ‘maalu paans’ on the table brought by the lovable and sometimes funny Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya. Picking up one item and also my second mug of tea for the morning, my attention was drawn to the conversation by the trio under the margosa tree. They were ironically discussing coconut prices in Sri Lanka, giving me a good reason to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Mae davas wala pol gediyaka mila rupiyal deseeyayi. Kohomada ithin pol sambola hadanney mae ganan walata (Coconut is now selling at nearly Rs. 200 per nut. How can we make pol sambol at these prices,” asked Kussi Amma Sera, who incidentally had prepared pol sambol for Monday’s dinner. “Apita pol sambola nathuwa bae-nae. Ithin tikak hadagannawa (We cannot do without pol sambol, so we still make it but a reduced quantity),” said Mabel Rasthiyadu.
“Mama wartha dekka, aanduwa pol wagawa dirimath karanawa kiyala. Eka hondai (I read reports that the government is encouraging more trees to be grown. That’s a good move),” added Serapina. “Aanduwa balanna avashya thava karanawak thama gruhastha paribojanaya. Mokada pol waga karana kattiya kaemethi wewi apanayanaya karanna, adayama wedi nisa (The government should also focus more on domestic consumption because growers might favour exporting coconuts because they get a bigger income),” noted Kussi Amma Sera.
The acreage of coconut land at 1.095 million in 2024 is much higher than tea land which currently totals 202,000 acres. Tea lands had also fallen from 240,000 acres in 1960, as the reliance on plantation crops as the country’s main source of income faded over the years. Despite these trends, coconut seems to be making a comeback with large-scale cultivations in the north being a reassuring feature.
For the record, remittances by Sri Lankan expatriates mostly working in labour-intensive jobs in West Asia and garments exports are the main contributors to foreign exchange earnings, while a resurgence in tourism has made it the third highest forex earner.
Foreign remittances in 2025 are expected to reach an all-time record of $7.8 billion, while tourism is expected to record an income of $3.2 billion, according to released official figures. Garment exports for the 11-month period ending November 2025 totalled $4.8 billion compared to $4.6 billion in the same 2024 period.
Well…..after trawling through figures and figures of coconut, tea and rubber, it was time to give coconut a rest with the wish-list for 2026 being a hope that plantation crops would be restored to their former glory when plantations reigned supreme during the days of the British Raj!
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