Once discarded, coconut shells now a hot export commodity from Kerala

Coconut shells, once thrown away as waste, are now selling at record prices in Kerala, touching Rs 35 per kg. Rising demand from industries and exports has created a lucrative market, even as high coconut and oil prices burden households

Kottayam: Once discarded as waste, coconut shells in Kerala have turned into a lucrative commodity, with prices hitting record highs on the back of rising industrial demand from other states and even overseas.

The price of coconut shells has seen a significant jump, rising to a record high of up to Rs 35 per kg in some parts of Kerala in the past few months. Interestingly, a year ago, coconuts in the state were sold for Rs 30-40 a kg (now Rs 80-90), while today their shells are fetching up to Rs 35 a kg in many parts of Kerala.

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The price escalated from Rs 5 per kg at the beginning of this year, creating a lucrative market for coconut traders and farmers. Traders involved in the trade have confirmed that the price surge is a result of high demand from both domestic and foreign markets.

Subair, a trader in southern Kerala’s Kollam city, said that he is selling the coconut shells to traders from Tamil Nadu who, in turn, export to China and Taiwan, adding that its prices touched Rs 33 in Kollam.

According to him, the shells are used to produce activated carbon for water purification, cosmetics, and various industrial applications. Murugan, a trader in Erattupetta of Kottayam district, said that the jump in the price of coconut shells up to Rs 35 a kg made it a high-value product.

Murugan says he collects the shells locally and has been selling them to the traders in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Households in Kerala have also begun storing coconut shells to sell them to local traders at higher rates after the recent surge in their prices.

The sudden rise in value has made the coconut shell a ‘gold price’ commodity, with the small-scale entrepreneurs now engaging in online-based collection businesses. The sudden rise in the prices of coconuts and coconut oil, both essential in the daily life of Keralites, has upset the household budget across the state.

In the state, a kg of coconut costs around Rs 80-90, while coconut oil is priced at Rs 400-500 per kg. With the Onam festival approaching, the price surge has turned into a major political issue, prompting the government to announce subsidised sales of coconut oil to provide some relief to consumers.