Plan to develop Coir industry in Konkan region
- Coir Board, under the MSME Ministry, is looking to take multiple steps to promote coir usage, create awareness among entrepreneurs, and train youth for employment in the sector.
- The board is aiming to develop coir industry in the Konkan region.
- The present Sub Regional Office of Coir Board at Sindhudurg has been shifted and upgraded to Regional Office and will undertake enhanced activities for the development of the coir industry in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa.
Coir and Coir Industry
- Coir is fibre derived from the outer husk of the coconut, used in potting compost and for making ropes and matting.
- Coir is dominantly found in the southern coastal belt due to huge coconut plantations.
- Kerala alone accounts for 61% of total coconut production and 85% of total coir products.
- The Coir Industry is an agro-based rural industry that provides employment to over 7 lakhs workers in the major coconut producing states of India.
- Today it has developed into a more professional and modern industry, spread over the coastal belt of the country.
Coir Board
- To revive this traditional industry, the government of India had set up a Coir Board under the Coir Industry Act, 1953.
- It works for the overall sustainable development of the coir industry in the country, including promotion of domestic as well as export markets of coir and coir products.
Coir: an export-oriented Industry
- Coir and coir products are exported to almost 110 countries all over the world from India.
- Currently, there are 1570 registered coir exporters in the country.
- In fact, the export of Coir and Coir products from India during the year 2020-21 has registered an all-time high record of Rs.3778 crores with an increase of over Rs.1021 crores from the previous year.
- The Coir Board has stated that it will identify and register 50 coir exporters under the Board focusing on the ports of Mumbai, Vizag & Kandla for fostering export markets within a span of the next 3 years.