Exports of coir and coir products from India touched an all-time high totaling Rs. 14.76 billion, registering a surge of 32 percent year-on-year, during the last fiscal year of 2013-14, owing to robust consumption from China, as per the Indian Coir Board, reports the Business Standard quoting PTI.
Coir Board chairman G Balachandran said coir exports increased to 537,040 tons during the last fiscal year, from 429,501 tons in fiscal year 2012-13, recording a growth of 25 percent.
China was the biggest consumer of coir and coir products from India, accounting for 24.42 percent of total export of coir and coir products made by the country in 2013-14, he added.
The Coir Boar official informed that a total of 192,110 tons of coir and coir products worth Rs. 3.6 billion were exported to China during 2013-14.
Mr. Balachandran expressed concern over the sharp increase of coir fibre to China, stating that the Government must take immediate steps to send value-added products to the country instead of exporting raw materials.
China uses the coir yarn from India to manufacture value-added products and exports them to other countries, including India, he added.
According to the Coir Board, exports of coir yarn from the country touched Rs. 3.29 billion, showing a rise of 59 percent year-on-year, whereas exports of coir pith totaled Rs. 3.42 billion, recording a surge of 38 percent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, exports of coir handloom mats fell 6.38 percent year-on-year in 2013-14, and exports of coir rugs and carpets also registered a decline of 2.11 percent, compared to the 2012-13 fiscal year.
Highest exports of coir and coir products came from the Indian state of Kerala, which exported 73,665 tons of coir and coir products valued at Rs. 7.09 billion, during the last fiscal.
India’s coir exports amounted to Rs. 11.16 billion during the fiscal year of 2012-13, registering a surge of 6 percent year-on-year. The country exported 429,500 tons of coir and coir products in 2012-13.
