After a short and truncated week of trade, coconut oil markets are still to get into their normal stride in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The markets had remained closed since Wednesday last week on account of elections and other holidays and trading was restricted to just two days. The markets are still to get back to active trade mode and there were hardly any buyers or sellers on Monday, Mr Prakash B. Rao, Member of the Cochin Oil Merchants Association (COMA), said.

During the last five days, the flow of coconut oil from Tamil Nadu to Kerala fell by over 80 per cent. Kerala continues to be perennially short of coconut oil production and needs substantial inflows to meet its consumption demand, sources in the trade said. In the sparsely traded market on Monday, coconut oil prices quoted at Rs 96 a kg in Kerala and Rs 93 a kg in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, copra quoted Rs 65 a kg in Kerala and Rs 64 a kg in Tamil Nadu markets.

The flow of coconut oil from Tamil Nadu to Kerala has been arrested mainly on account of elections in the two southern States. Wholesale movement of coconut oil trickled as restrictions were enforced and truckers were not willing to move the stock. The millers refused to buy and stock up coconut oil. Farmers in Tamil Nadu deferred harvesting their crops till the elections were behind them. And it will take a minimum of one week for the crop to reach the millers for processing, stocking and finally for transport to Kerala markets, sources said.

While poor arrivals had fuelled prices, the situation is likely to change in the coming weeks. Even as the consumption demand from Kerala has remained relatively steady, industrial demand has dried up both in Tamil Nadu and Kerala during the last few weeks. The industrial demand is likely to revive once the arrivals into the markets increase and prices dip, market sources said. Prices of competing edible oils such as palm oil and palm kernel oil remained steady at Rs 58 and Rs 95 a kg respectively.

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