Lower demand pulls down coconut oil prices

With high prices, coconut oil is losing its steam with diminishing local demand as well as consumer shift towards other cheap edible oils.

Thalath Mahmood, Director, Cochin Oil Merchants Association (COMA) pointed out that there has been an increasing trend of shifting to rice bran and sunflower oil by households and even hotels due to unaffordable prices of coconut oil in the recent period. It is estimated that the drop of using coconut oil was nearly 40 per cent, he added.

With declining prices, the market today is ruling at ₹14,700 per quintal in Kerala, a drop of ₹100 from the last week level. Tamil Nadu rates stood at ₹14,200 per quintal against ₹14,500 quoted last week. Copra prices also moving southwards with prices ruling at ₹10,200 per quintal and ₹9,800 per in quintal in Kerala and Tamil Nadu respectively.

The week-long Diwali holidays as well as rains in Tamil Nadu also impacted the market, which would take couple of days for reviving fully, he said.

According to him, the high prices of coconut oil resulted in rampant adulteration with palm kernel oil and other low grade oils used for industrial purpose. Another trend seen in the market, especially in the northern parts of Kerala, was the availability of coconut oil extracted from chips used for coconut powder production. This, he said, is not a food grade oil but an extracted one made from coconut waste discarded by companies.

He also called upon the State Government to deploy squads to monitor coconut oil consignments arriving from neighbouring states by setting up high tech laboratories. COMA has offered its willingness to set up a monitoring facility in cooperation with Coconut Development Board, he said adding that the association had already submitted a proposal in this regard.

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