A shortage of nuts; use alternatives, says Coconut Growers Association

The public will have to cut down on consumption of fresh coconut for the next two months, as the shortage will remain till early January next year, Vice President of Coconut Growers Association, Chryshantha Jayawardene said.

Coconut prices kept fluctuating between Rs80- 100 this week, despite a gazette notification stipulating that traders cannot sell a nut above Rs70.

“While the public should face this shortage by cutting down coconut consumption, the State should focus on long- term objectives to prevent shortages like this. In the next two months, people should consume less coconuts if they have to purchase. They can opt to use coconut milk powder or coconut milk that is available in tetra packs, and thereby minimise the waste of extracting fresh milk domestically. They can use alternative side dishes replacing grated coconut sambol, mellum etc. This will be a temporary measure,” he offered.

Mr Jayawardena said neglected estates should be used to cultivate coconuts and those with home gardens with a capability of growing coconut trees should be encouraged to do so.

As the coconut shortage grew severe, President Rajapaksa this week ordered authorities to commence coconut cultivation in estates declared as 'neglected' with immediate effect.

Sri Lanka's total coconut production is about three billion nuts annually with a large domestic consumption market of about 1.8 billion. About 1.2 billion is exported and used locally to produce coconut-based products.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the Coconut Research Institute said despite requests made to the Institute to import frozen kernel from countries like the Philippines and Indonesia, they have refused giving permission as the scarcity is short- lived, and sufficient coconut supply will reach the market by January.

The Institute said this year’s annual national coconut production will see a 13 percent decrease compared to last year’s January to December yield.

Though last year’s production was 3,106 million nuts a year, this year's yield forecast is to be about 2,708 million for the whole year.

“Even a small reduction of supply can have an impact on domestic fresh coconut consumption as exporters and local producers of coconut- based items continue with their services,” the official said.