India’s coconut and coconut products exports have posted a 25 per cent growth in FY25, fetching an export revenue of ₹4,349 crore against ₹3,469 crore in the previous year. Activated carbon is the major item in the export basket clocking a revenue of ₹2,799 crore with a shipment of 1,76,435 tonnes against ₹2,108 crore in FY24 on a consignment of 1,54,059 tonnes.
However, the rising shipments has not brought any cheer to activated carbon producers as they fear that India’s dominance in the international market may be affected, thanks to the availability of cheaper and low quality products from China.
This is because India’s virgin carbon is now ruling high in the international market due to rising charcoal rates– the main raw material—which made the production cost to soar resulting in the rates of activated carbon to reach $3,600-3,700 per tonne compared to $2,500-2,700 of Chinese manufacturers, said Joshy Joseph, Director, IndCarb, the Palakkad based activated carbon manufacturer.
Chinese angle
The control of precious mines by China in several African countries, such as Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Burkina Faso, has prompted Chinese investors to buy activated carbon from China. At the same time, Indian manufacturers are facing an acute shortage of charcoal, with its cost reaching a record high due to a shortage of coconut shells. During this period last year, the charcoal rate was below ₹40,000 per tonne, and now it is trading at the ₹85,000 level, he said.
China is now in the process of procuring large quantities of whole coconut shells and charcoal from Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines where its rates are low. This would enable them to produce cheap quality materials, Joshy Joseph told businessline.
The activated carbon industry, he said, is dominated in the three southern states with around 25 units. However, the rising raw material cost has put the majority in doldrums. Climate change has been cited a major factor for the drop in coconut production that led to coconut shell shortage. The Indian carbon is becoming more expensive and less competitive because of the rising ocean freight on geo-political issues, he added.