Come summer, people make a beeline for coconuts

Come summer, people, particularly the health conscious, make a beeline for coconut vendors.

Craving for instant relief from dehydration, people throng the roadside shops not only to have a coconut but also to fill their bottles with coconut water to drink at home or even get it packed for their family members and friends.

Since summer is the season of coconuts, scores of vendors are seen mushrooming everywhere in Kazipet, Hanamkonda and Warangal towns.

Many turn entrepreneurs just for this summer season to make a fast buck, indicating the demand for coconut.

“On an average, we sell 2,000 coconuts per day. Every year, the price has been going up due to increasing demand. Now each coconut is sold at Rs. 15 compared to Rs. 8 and Rs. 10 last year,” says Sriram Mallikarjun, who has a shop selling coconuts opposite Government Girls High School, Hanamkonda.

According to him, they get coconuts from West Godavari. Every day, scores of Lorries arrive in Warangal during the season.

The vendors also sell coconut water at the rate of Rs. 50 per litre and Rs. 10 per glass.

Mallikarjun says around 1,000 shops have come up this season in three cities but the price has not gone down.

“We get each coconut for Rs. 10 and the larger ones for Rs. 12 each. We sell the final product after adding Rs. 2 or Rs. 3 to the wholesale price,” he explains.

As coconut water offers instant replenishment of salts that are lost due to severe heat, more people crave it.

Even doctors advise patients to consume coconut water.

Noted paediatrician Maganti Seshu Madhav said he advises parents to give more coconut water to their children, particularly during summer.

“It is the best remedy for diarrhoea and dehydration. Coconut water rejuvenates the body,” he says.