The Hindu Business Line : Coir Board seeks boat jetty in Alappuzha

The board had also submitted a proposal for setting up an inland container depot at Alappuzha for the benefit of exporters so that considerable amount of money and time can be saved, Mr A.C.Jose, Coir Board Chairman, said.

The Chairman pointed out that transhipment and poor turnaround impose an additional cost of 1.5 per cent on coir exports vis a vis other low cost locations. Inland transport costs are high and exports are hampered by increased dependence on feeder vessels.

Greater delays due to customs and handling at the ports lead to 30 per cent higher working requirements. Good port infrastructure is critical to global trade, he added.

Manufacturing costs are adversely affected by high cost of power and fuel. In an era of dynamic markets, Mr Jose said that there is a need to create supporting infrastructure to match the quantity, cost and productivity standards of the international players in the field. Coir has certain intrinsic advantages over other low cost economies in Asia.

Though Alappuzha is connected by rail, it is pointed out that most of the products meant for exports is moved by road resulting in heavy transportation costs to exporters. Presently, the district accounts for 16,000 containers and coir alone uses around 8,000 containers per year.

New schemes

The Coir board, he said, is planning a number of schemes, which aims to include the households at the lower end of spectrum. The board is also working on some schemes for the export stakeholders. There are also plans to make Pollachi a coir hub following requests from exporters there.

The board is also working out schemes to suit different areas in different parts of the country, so that coir industry as a whole will grow in different dimensions and different directions.

As part of the social responsibilities, the board proposes to raise the standard of living of the existing 5 lakh odd employees, more than providing additional employment in this sector.

This will not only give them financial inclusiveness but also help them to provide shelter to their kith and kin who are dependent on them.

Spreading wings

The Chairman also said that the vision of the board, to take the coir industry forward through various stations apart from Kerala, has borne fruit and the industry today has spread to north eastern states, parts of Maharashtra, Orissa, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

"We are receiving encouraging invitations from various other districts like Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Rajahmundry, which have extensive coconut cultivation," he added.