• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 12 The Coir Commission, constituted by the State Government to revamp the sector, has proposed forming a marketing consortium with private sector participation.

The report of the commission, which was submitted to the Government on Friday, said that private entrepreneurs, public sector agencies and the Coir Board will be given equity participation in the proposed Kerala Coir Marketing Consortium.

However, public sector entities will have higher equity stake in the consortium, which will be headed by a person who is qualified and has practical experience in modern marketing techniques.

The commission has recommended a restructuring scheme, with an outlay of Rs 450.66 crore, which will be implemented over four years. The outlay for the first year is set at Rs 162.17 crore, for second year it is Rs 74.43 crore, the third year outlay is Rs 144.98 crore, and for the fourth year, it is Rs 68.98 crore.

The report said that the machinery required for coir sector are not manufactured in the State and this poses problems related to maintenance and repair. The situation is one of the major hurdles in the way of comprehensive modernisation of the sector.

Under the circumstances, the commission has recommended the establishment of a modern public sector facility at Alappuzha for the manufacture of machinery and spare parts. This will require an investment of Rs 30 crore.

Another suggestion of the commission is to set up an Apex Body for Coir (ABC) to ensure the comprehensive growth of the sector. The Minister for Coir Development will be the Chairman of the body, while an expert in the field will be the Vice-Chairman.

The responsibilities of ABC will include giving guidelines for the development of the sector, implementing of Government policies and giving instructions in respect of marketing. The body will also act as the grievance redressal panel for coir sector.

The commission has pointed out that the State is depending on Tamil Nadu for procurement of husk. In order to attain self-sufficiency in husk production and efficiency in husk procurement, the commission has suggested three schemes.

Accordingly, the procurement of husk will be carried out through collection agents, and through formation of procurement societies and procurement consortium. The annual cost for husk procurement is put at Rs 13.77 crore.

More Stories on : Coir | Strategy | Kerala

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line