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Close on the heels of Tamil Nadu declaring copra procurement from June 16, a similar demand has come up in Kerala to start the initiative at the earliest.
The the Kerala government is yet to move in this regard though the Centre had given its approval in February by declaring the minimum support price for copra for 2016 season. The Centre had fixed the MSP at ₹59.50 a kg for milling copra and ₹62.40 for ball copra and entrusted Nafed for the venture.
One of the election promises of Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK was the opening of direct procurement centres for copra in the next six months. Besides opening of DPC’s in 20 districts, where there is substantial production, the government had also announced waiver of the one per cent Market Committee cess and the five per cent VAT for farmers selling copra. Funding arrangements were also made by providing ₹10 crore as working capital for this procurement process.
However, in Kerala, uncertainty surrounded the government’s plans as the authorities had convened only one meeting, on March 22, and had forwarded its minutes to Nafed only as a request and that too not in the prescribed format. According to sources in the coconut trade, before starting the procurement, several formalities have to be completed, including the appointment of designated State-level agencies for the purpose.
It may be recalled that Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in Kerala were directly involved in the 2012 procurement season for collecting copra from farmers.
Thalath Mahmood, President, Cochin Oil Merchants Association, urged the government to start procurement at the earliest to benefit farmers, as copra prices in Kerala have dropped below the MSP.
Meanwhile, the coconut oil market in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is holding steady, with prices at ₹7,800 and ₹7,500 a quintal respectively. Copra prices are ruling at ₹5,350 in Kerala and ₹5,200 in Tamil Nadu without any further recoveries. With the onset of the monsoon, the market expects supplies to get tight in the coming days as rains would hamper plucking of raw nuts.
However, the Coconut Development Board hopes the monsoon will lead to a pick-up in prices as supplies from major production centres drop.
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