A high-level meeting convened by Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar here on Tuesday decided to promote Neera, a non- alcoholic beverage extracted from coconut tree, as a health drink in the international market.
The meeting entrusted the Coconut Development Corporation with training technicians to extract Neera. The government would also take steps to help producer companies. A special package for Neera production would be included in the budget next year, the Minister said after the meeting.
He said the government would create a consortium of farmer producer companies to manufacture Neera under a common brand name and market it in tetra pack. The meeting formed a three-member committee to formulate standards for Neera manufacture.
