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This has created a sharp rise in demand which resulted into higher price of coconuts. Lanka Business Online reports:

"Exports of DC declined because they could not get enough nuts owing to the competition for nuts from the coconut oil mills," he said. "Now with more nuts coming, DC millers will also be competitive."

Sunil Watawala of the DC Millers Association SAID the seasonal crop which, along with the recent sharp reduction in import duty on edible oil imports, should help lower prices and make more nuts available for DC mills.

The shortage of local nuts had made local DC exports uncompetitive, he said.

"We quoting 200 rupees a kilo while buyers were quoting 190 rupees," he said.

"Now most mills are idling and there's labour unrest because they have no work."

However, he said, the situation should improve if import duty on edible oils remain at the new lower levels so that nut prices remain low and more nuts become available for DC mills, he said.  

Last year, the DC industry exported 45,000 tons of desiccated coconut but their full capacity was 90,000 metric tons. Sri Lanka is the fourth largest coconut producing country in the world. Per year, it produces three billion coconuts. Coconut oil is used for cooking. Coconut milk and coconut are used in foods. Coconut tree is also very useful because other crops can be grown along with coconut trees. In addition, desiccated coconut is widely exported in various countries.

Like Sri Lanka, coconut is also widely produced in Bangladesh. Business entrepreneurs of our country can also produce various products from coconut and export them in abroad.

For more information about Sri Lanka coconuts visit the following links:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/g3n3976263006941/

http://www.lankaemb-egypt.com/SriLanka/products.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Sri_Lanka

http://www.cda.lk/

http://www.cri.lk/

Related articles:

Lanka Business Online