Mission to sell 200,000 coconuts
Stock clearing before Thaipusam
GEORGE TOWN: With Thaipusam just around the corner, a third-generation coconut supplier in Penang is embarking on a stock-clearing exercise involving more than 200,000 coconuts.
AK Coconut Trading managing director A. Loganathan, whose shop is in Lorong Selamat, is desperate to clear the dehusked coconuts before the arrival of his new stock on Jan 15.
“I’m selling at a cheaper price, between RM1.30 and RM1.50 each, before the nuts turn stale.
“I believe this is the cheapest price any supplier in Penang is selling.
“Even my competitors had queried me about it.
“Last year, some 300,000 coconuts were smashed during the Thaipusam celebration in Penang. The price was between RM1.70 and RM1.80 each then.
“My coconuts are grown at four farms in Perak and will be brought to my shop in Penang in batches to ensure they are still fresh,” he said yesterday.
Loganathan said so far, he had secured about 80,000 orders and hoped to clear the old stock before Thaipusam on Jan 21.
During Thaipusam, Hindu devotees smash coconuts on the road to symbolise the breaking of one’s ego and to reveal the purity inside.
Others believe the act of breaking the nuts will rid them of bad luck from the past, or to fulfil their vows.
Last month, The Star reported that far cheaper coconuts imported from Indonesia had caused a drop in demand for the local ones.
However, local suppliers argue that the quality of the imported coconuts is actually lower.