Tender coconut vendors cash in on summer

The rising temperature has unprecedentedly lifted the demand for tender coconuts.

With the escalation of summer comes a rise in demand for tender coconuts. Farmers in Mandya, who grow coconut on 1.6 lakh hectares and get at least 18 crore tender coconuts a year, have reason to cheer.

Where once they had to wait at the market in Maddur — considered Asia’s biggest tender coconut market — for prospective merchants to buy their produce or sell at cheap prices to middlemen, today it’s a different story.

The rise in temperature has increased the emand for tender coconuts, besides increasing the procurement price.

Ranging between Rs. 4 and Rs. 10 per nut until a few weeks ago, the price is now between Rs. 5 and Rs. 18. The procurement price is decided based on the size and quality of the coconut. While a small and poor quality coconut fetches Rs. 4 or Rs. 5, the superfine variety fetches Rs. 18.

6.5 crore nuts sold

The Maddur market, situated on the premises of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, has sold over 6.5 crore tender coconuts since January 1 this year. The merchants supply around 13 crore nuts to Maharashtra, Goa, Delhi, Gujarat, and other States. The average procurement of tender coconuts is around 6 lakh a day. However, the Maddur market broke an all-time record by procuring 7.5 lakh nuts on March 13.