Chutney, the most favourite side dish in South Indian homes and hotels has become costly, thanks to the rising price of coconut. Though wholesalers buy coconuts by the kilo, they are sold as individual pieces in the retail market and one ‘big nut’ costs between ₹35 to ₹40.
Oragadam resident V.S. Sridharan said though they had cut down the consumption of coconut due to health reasons, they still used two coconuts a week. “The prices have been increasing for the past month or so now. A rural area not very far from our home has many coconut trees and yet, the price is quite high,” he said.
Industry experts said that last year’s drought had led to a drop in production, which has impacted the prices. “There was a 33% decrease in yield in 2016 due to the drought when trees in districts including Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur, Karur, Namakkal and Salem were affected. The government had implemented various programmes to help farmers and hopefully things will get better this year. Tamil Nadu stands first in coconut production and second in productivity. Coconut is cultivated in an area of 4.65 lakh hectares,” said an official source in the Agriculture Department.
Hotels and restaurants that buy coconuts in the wholesale market said that they had reduced the use of coconut and increased roasted gram in chutneys.
K. Divakaran, who runs Kalpaga Restaurant on TTK Road said that different chutneys that don’t require coconut and molaga podi (gun powder) were being substituted to keep prices under control. “In the wholesale market, three coconuts are available at ₹52 per kilo. The price has increased from ₹36 per kilo and only two to three coconuts could be purchased,” he said.
Trend likely to continue
Coconut farmer S. Sankaranarayanan of Kottakuppam in Villupuram said that they were getting ₹15 per piece for the last few months irrespective of the size. “Though the number of coconuts has come down, the increase in price has helped us since labour costs have gone up. We have to pay ₹700 per climber per day. Until last year, we were getting only ₹8 - ₹10 per piece. The same prices are expected to continue for another six months at least,” he said.
Wholesaler V.P. Velmurugan from Royapettah said that they were unable to sell coconuts for more that ₹40 a piece though they paid more.
“These are the biggest coconuts and cost us around ₹50 a piece since they weigh nearly a kilo. But since customers will not pay more that ₹40 for one piece, we sell at a loss. We also get a lot of coir and damaged coconuts since we purchase based on weight,” he said, adding that the industry was in a doldrums and needed government intervention.
