Coir Board is holding a five-day coir technology exhibition on Marine Drive in the city from August 12 to reveal all coir industry-related technological breakthroughs achieved by research institutions.
The occasion will also be used to propagate a host of new and innovative products made from coir. At a recent press conference by the Coir Board, chairman G. Balachandran unveiled umbrellas and a jacket made from coir.
These are examples of new grounds broken by researchers in coir sectors, said Mr. Balachandran, who announced that a coir bank was being set up to meet the shortage of coir fibre in the State. This will be the first time that the Coir Board is holding a technology expo and it is part of the efforts to introduce substantial mechanisation of the industry.
He said that mobile defibering machines on the production front and coir composite board on the products front were capable of revolutionising the coir sector, which has lagged in mechanisation, especially in Kerala. He said that Tamil Nadu had taken big strides in the process of mechanisation of the coir industry.
One of the issues being pursued by the Coir Board right now is the inclusion of coir in the National Fibre Policy, which would entitle the coir sector to incentives now enjoyed by other fibre-based industries. Mr. Balachandran said the Central Coir Research Institute,
Diversified products like coir pith, which earned Rs. 200 crore in exports last year, are new areas to be pursued , he said.
