Coconut board clears 18 value-addition projects

T hi ru van ant ha pu ram, June 17: The Coconut Development Board (CDB) has cleared 18 projects in coconut value-addition, with an outlay of about R12.76 crore. This includes production of shell charcoal, adding mills’ annual processing capacity and product diversification as in flavoured coconut milk, ready-to-drink products, virgin coconut oil production and desiccated coconut powder.

The board has approved financialassistance to the ru ne of R2.75 crore for annual processing capacity of 493 lakh coconuts and 3,300 million tonne (mt) production of shell charcoal, said a CDB chairman AK Singh, after the 48th meeting of the board’s project approval committee (PAC ). Under the sub-component‘Processing and Product Diversification’, five projects for desiccated coconut powder for processing 300 lakh nuts per year, three virgin coconut oil units for processing 105 lakh nuts per year, one coconut-based food production unit with a capacity to process 2 lakh nuts per year, two copra dryer units with processing capacity of 60 lakh coconuts per year, four ball copra-making units with processing capacity of 26 lakh coconuts per year and two shell charcoal units were sanctioned.

CDB Institute of Technology in Aluva, Kerala, has developed four flavours of ‘flavored coconut milk, a ‘ready-to-drink juice’ in lab scale. For pilot testing of the product, PAC has sanctioned R52.20 lakh. A unit for virgin coconut oil processing with a capacity to process 5,000 nuts per day, one coconut-based food unit for processing 600 coconuts per day, two desiccated coconut powder making units and two copra dryer units with a capacity to process 20,000 coconuts per day were sanctioned in Kerala.