Coconut oil prices in Kerala surged this week following bulk buying of copra by Marico Industries from the Tamil Nadu market.

Coconut oil is now selling at Rs 65 a kg in Kerala against last week’s Rs 59 . Rates in Tamil Nadu have also moved up to Rs 63 a kg against Rs 57 last week.

Mr Prakash B. Rao, Vice-President, Coconut Oil Merchants Association (COMA), attributed the increase to bulk buying of copra and coconut oil by Marico for use in production of hair oil and cosmetics.

The company has reportedly purchased around 1,500 tonnes from Tamil Nadu at Rs 44 a kg, resulting in prices increasing, he said.

State procurement hit

Farmers are now reluctant to supply copra to cooperative societies due to increased buying by corporates at reasonably good rates. This, he said, is likely to affect copra procurement by Government agencies.

Copra prices in Kerala were quoted at Rs 4,300 a quintal against Rs 4,000 last week. In Tamil Nadu, it was Rs 4,100 against Rs 3,800 reported last week.

Prices of palm oil and palm kernel oil, the substitutes for coconut oil, are however down this week.

Palm oil was quoted at Rs 60 a kg against Rs 64 and palm kernel oil was ruling at Rs 68 a kg against Rs 70.

Increased supply from Malaysia will start in the next couple of months, and this might be the reason for the drop in prices, he said.

Mr Bharat N. Khona, former Board Member, COMA, said that coconut oil prices had started stabilising compared with other edible oils, and this trend was likely to persist in the coming weeks. Mr Thalath Mahamood, President, COMA said that copra procurement by cooperatives, too, had helped prices firm up. He said that rates would rebound since the commodity market is cyclical in nature.

sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in

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