Copra shortage leaves coconut oil on the boil

Coconut oil prices touched a record ₹1,980-2000 for 15-kg loose pack on Thursday at Kangeyam in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district. Kangeyam is the production hub for coconut oil, housing over 100 copra crushing units.

“The current price of ₹2,000 is a record price. No one expected prices to zoom to such levels, but this trend will not remain for long. They will come down over the next few days. Even at these levels, no miller in Kangeyam and Uthukuli is ready to sell,” said RM Palanisamy, coconut oil dealer of Erode.

Last year, coconut oil touched a high of ₹1,600. Coconut oil sales have plunged as a result.

Crushing units say that for the past three months coconut oil sale has been poor. Further, they said due to scarcity of copra, the price of coconut oil has increased.

Some popular coconut oil companies holding huge stocks, are in a dilemma about increasing the prices of their product in the market, as they feel that the price may come down soon. Wholesale traders say that they have to sell the coconut oil at ₹160 a kg in retail if they purchase at current price. No buyer will buy the coconut oil for cooking by paying so much. They may shift to palm oil, which is ruling at ₹62 a kg in the wholesale market and ₹65 in retail outlets. Still, biscuit firms are buying palm kernel which is selling at ₹100 a kg.

Coconut oil is ruling lower at Ankola, Jalkhan and Moolageon in Maharashtra and Dipthur, Tumkur and Arisikere in Karnataka. Many north Indian buyers are buying from Maharashtra and traders from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Puducherry and parts of Tamilnadu are meeting their needs Karnataka, as a result.

Meanwhile the copra is selling at ₹9,500-9,600 a quintal. Limited quantities are available with farmers. Edible copra is being sold at ₹10,200 in Erode. Kerala coconut oil crushers are buying all the copra by paying up to ₹9,800 . So copra farmers are importing the coconut from Kasargod, Kannur and also from some places in Karnataka. One of the copra farmers said that within a week’s time, 1,800 tonnes of coconuts have been purchased by farmers in Erode and Tirupur districts from Kerala and Karnataka. They said due to severe drought, thousands of coconut trees have withered in Erode and Tirupur districts in Tamil Nadu. These farmers convert coconut into copra for sales.