The Hindu Business Line : `Proposed hike in Kochi port tariff will hit coir exports'

THE Coir Board has taken up the issue of upward revision of terminal handling charges at Cochin Port Trust with the Tariff Authority for Major Ports, saying that the hike would be detrimental to the domestic coir sector.

The Coir Board Chairman, Mr A.C. Jose, in a letter sent to the TAMP Director requested either to withdraw the proposed increase of about 37 per cent in the port tariff or to exempt coir from the proposed hike. The steep increase, he said, has caused concern for the small-scale sector since the export realisation in the coir sector per container is much less compared to other commodities.

The implication of the proposed revision of terminal handling charges at the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal will not be as significant on other commodities such as marine and spices where the f.o.b. (freight on board) value of one shipment in a 40 ft container will be to the tune of Rs 25-35 lakh. In the case of coir, he said the f.o.b. value is only Rs 1.75 lakh for coir pith, Rs 3.7 lakh for coir geo textiles and Rs 6-8 lakh for coir mats. These statistics, he said, will illustrate the disadvantageous position to which coir exports from India will be put to vis a vis other commodities of traditional origin in the country.

Mr Jose pointed out that the export to the US and EU countries, which constituted about 88 per cent of the total exports from India, has already started showing a decreasing trend during the current year, reportedly on account of natural calamities that hit certain cities of the US. The present hike in the terminal handling charges will further hamper the export trend, he said.

The bulky nature of the coir product with less unit value and high incidence of freight are making the coir products uncompetitive in price-conscious markets. The proposed hike will further aggravate the situation. The coir industry is the means of livelihood for about 5.5 lakh of rural artisans along the coastal belt of India.