Minister for Industries P. Rajeeve called for concerted efforts to develop diversified value-added products from coconut, alongside traditional products. He was speaking at the inauguration of the World Coconut Day Celebrations at the Ernakulam Town Hall under the aegis of the Coconut Development Board.
He said that Kerala was a major producer of coconut and its products, predominantly coconut oil. There had been a surge in innovative coconut products such as coconut chips and nata-de-coco, which offered significant potential in both domestic and global markets, he added. “We need to promote small-scale industries for the production of such diversified products,” the Minister said.
He stated that the convergence of schemes from the Government of Kerala and the Coconut Development Board would help provide quality support to entrepreneurs in the coconut sector. He added that the Board, Kerala Agricultural University, and the State Agriculture Department should collaborate to develop suitable technology for managing major pests and diseases in coconut.
The government has launched an initiative to develop a brand for the State, starting with coconut oil. Six coconut oil processing units have been certified to use the Kerala Brand ‘Nanma,’ and their products are now available in the market. The processing units source their raw materials exclusively from the State.
The Minister said that the Coconut Park at Kuttiadi would be functional soon and this was bound to improve the prospects for the coconut sector in the State. He also released Kera Bharathi, the in-house Hindi journal of the Board and a brochure on the schemes of the Board, said a press release here.
