Exports of coir and its products rose by 19 per cent to 3.82 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal, the Coir Board of India said.

In value terms also, it rose by 19 per cent to Rs 956.83 crore in the same period.

The country had exported 3.21 lakh tonnes of coir and its products worth Rs 807.07 crore in the 2010-11 fiscal.

Coir is used to make rope, mattress, rugs and carpets among others.

The Coir Board has set an export target of Rs 2,000 crore for the 12th Five-Year plan period (2012-2017).

Coir product making is an important cottage industry, contributing significantly to the economy of the major coconut growing states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

India exports coir and its products to over 97 countries, with the US being the largest market.

Countries like the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Australia, France, Spain, Canada, Japan, Greece, Sweden, South Africa, UAE, Portugal, and Denmark are the other major markets of coir and coir products.

India and Sri Lanka are two major coir producers in the world and account for around 90 per cent of about 3.50 lakh tonnes global production of the item.

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