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Our Bureau

Rajahmundry , Sept. 3

There is an imperative need for setting up more processing units in the two Godavari districts - the main coconut growing area of Andhra Pradesh - and the Coconut Development Board (CDB) has several schemes to extend financial support to entrepreneurs for the purpose, according to Mr K.R. Kuttikrishnan, Deputy Director.

He was speaking to presspersons here on Saturday after participating in an interaction session with farmers on the occasion of the World Coconut Day. He said coconut was being grown on almost two million hectares of land in the country, with the southern States accounting for 90 per cent of the area as well as production. Andhra Pradesh stood first in yield per hectare, with 11,531 nuts per annum, as against the country's average of 6,250 nuts. He said the CDB in collaboration with the Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), Mysore, had developed a technology for preservation of tender coconut water in pouches and aluminium cans without loss of its qualities and taste. He said the technology had been transferred to Jain Agro Food Products at Maddur in Karnataka, Shakthi Coconut Products in Tamil Nadu and Chaitanya Food Products Private Ltd in Kerala.

"Some units have come up in Gujarat and other northern States as well. This beverage is being sold as Cocojal by Jain Agro and under other brand names by the remaining companies. It will take Rs 60 lakh or so to set up such a unit and in view of the rising demand for tender coconut, such units should be set up in Andhra Pradesh too," he said.

More Stories on : Coconut & Copra | Andhra Pradesh

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