Going nuts about coconuts

Demand for coconuts and coconut products is booming, and a team of researchers are looking to help Queensland farmers tap into the potentially lucrative market.

DEMAND for coconuts and coconut products is booming, and a local team of researchers is looking to help Queensland farmers tap into the potentially lucrative market.

Despite coconut products becoming a regular fixture thanks to a growing health and wellness industry, there are no large-scale coconut plantations in Australia, with the bulk being sourced from countries such as Sri Lanka and Thailand. But that could all change, thanks to work being done by researchers at the University of Queensland.

Working with the CSIRO’s ON Prime Program, the CocoBIO team has been looking into the long-term preservation of coconut crops and even the potential to clone coconuts to ensure steady supply.

Their work could prove crucial, especially in the wake of recent research that has predicted the coconut water industry alone to hit $8 billion by 2020.

CocoBIO lead researcher Dr Julianne Biddle said coconuts could be grown with little impact on the environment and with little chemical input compared to other crops.

Though products such as coconut milk, yoghurt, flour and sugar are in hot demand, coconut trees can take up to five years to bear fruit.

Picture: LIAM KIDSTON LOW-IMPACT CROP: Lead researcher Julianne Biddle of the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus is part of the Coco-BIO group that has made advances in cloning coconuts, opening up the potential for a fast-growing industry,