The Arab business community is keen to form joint ventures with Indian companies for setting up integrated coconut-based industries in Saudi Arabia.

The business offers received at the recently-concluded Foodex Saudi 2016 at Jeddah are a pointer to this.

The Coconut Development Board got a series of enquiries from the trade on several value-added products, such as desiccated coconut powder, virgin coconut oil, Neera honey, coconut sugar, etc.

Trade enquiries

A CDB official who participated in the event told BusinessLine that there were good trade enquiries at the Board’s pavilion on the export possibility of different branded value-added coconut products.

The Arab community is highly aware of the health and wellness of coconut and this could be translated into a potential business for the export of coconut products in the entire West Asia.

Many of the business groups have evinced interest in the import of de-husked nuts.

In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, ending November, India exported 631.22 tonnes of fresh coconut; 758.98 tonnes of coconut oil and 905.99 tonnes of desiccated coconut to Saudi Arabia.

Besides, coconut oil, activated carbon and coconut chutney powder are finding new markets in the country.

The figure should further increase with the firming up of more export orders after the trade enquiries from Saudi Arabia materialise into contracts, the official said.

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