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Coconut oil prices soared to a new high of Rs 2,270 for 15-kg loose pack on Thursday as drought in western districts of Tamil Nadu has resulted in severe shortage of copra.
“Prices rose to ₹2,270 from Rs 2240 in the morning and the sudden rise has come as a surprise to crushers. There is absolutely no chance of a drop in prices now. Only limited quantities are being sold due to high price”, said RM Palanisamy, a trader.
He said the increase in price is due to the shortage of copra and an increase in its price. Due to drought, many coconut trees in Erode, Pollachi and other places have withered forcing farmers to purchase coconuts from Kerala and Karnataka for conversion to copra. Now, only inferior quality copra is available for sale.
On Thursday, copra was sold at ₹10,300-10,500 a quintal as against last week’s price of ₹10,200. Some traders are expecting the price to improve further.
On Thursday, only local coconut oil crushers procured copra with Kerala crushers making no purchases as they have adequate stocks with them.
Some traders said that the current price of coconut oil is artificial.
The price of palm oil has also increased to ₹6,200-6,500 a quintal and the price of palm kernel remains at ₹9,000 a quintal. The demand for the palm oil has increased heavily due to hike in coconut oil price.
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