LNP – Govt. braces for coconut products imports

In order to avert a major coconut crisis in the coming months, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunneththi and Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure K. V. Samantha Vidyarathna will submit a joint cabinet paper next week to urgently import coconut-related products which will be a substitute for coconuts which are right now in severe shortage as well as relevant authorities to conduct a study on conditions applicable for coconut imports, an official said.

Chairman of the Coconut Development Authority, Shantha Ranathunga told the Daily Mirror that a donation of 55,000 tonnes of fertilizers from Russia from which half is allocated to tea production and half to coconut production is to be received to help with the current crisis which will span across 300,000 acres of land.”

According to the Plant Protection Ordinance, a law to make better provisions against the introduction into Sri Lanka and against the spread of diseases injurious to, or destructive of, plants, and for the sanitation of plants in Sri Lanka, states “for prohibiting the landing of plants from vessels or boats or aircraft either absolutely or conditionally”.

Mr. Ranathunga said that as a long-term measure the Coconut Development Authority, Coconut Research Institute, Plant Quarantine Board and the Sri Lanka Standards Institution will conduct a joint study after cabinet approval on importing coconut under certain conditions which do not harm the crop. An immediate solution to the coconut crisis is to import coconut-related products like kernels, coconut powder, and coconut milk.

When contacted, the chairman confirmed that steps were underway to seek approval to import coconut-related products which would be available at a significantly lower cost than the current coconut prices.

The coconut crisis is attributed to high demand by both local and export industries as well as wastage of coconut on consumption and high prices of fertilizers. The CDA urges the public to minimise wastage of coconuts when consumed locally.

The government is also allocating fertilizers at half the price to landowners who own less than five acres to promote the production of coconuts.