Coconuts getting pricier by the day in Chennai

Chennai: The price of coconuts, already up by more than 10 per cent in the last one month due to multiple factors ranging from consecutive monsoon failures and the delay in releasing Cauvery water to farmlands in delta regions, is set to surge by another 15 per cent in the coming days due to drastic dip in coconut production.

While the failure of monsoon has affected the yield in Pollachi and Coimbatore, the failure of timely release of Cauvery water has affected coconut production in Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Pondicherry.

“Last month, the Pondicherry coconut was priced around Rs 22 and Pollachi, Rs 27. The current price stands anywhere between Rs 29 and Rs 45. This has drastically reduced the profits and the farmers say they do not see any bright days, this summer, neither so do we,” said R.Ranganayaki, a tender coconut vendor at Ekkatuthangal.

According to farmers at Pollachi and Thanjavur that DC contacted, there has been an 80 per cent drop in production of coconuts because of a surge in the need for tender coconuts. “Comparatively, the time for production is lesser and it is sold at higher price. So, in the very little yield we get, 70 per cent of it is tender coconuts, while we leave the rest to ripen,” said one of the farmers.

“Comparatively in the months of May and June, the sale of coconuts is usually low and this time, it is worse. The price rose from Rs 25-30 to Rs 35-45 in May and the patronage has already reduced post the surge,” rued a coconut seller at Velachery.

Also, though the prices have been increasing, the coconut farmers are not getting a good price, they say. Due to involvement of middlemen at various stages in the coconut business, the product cost is reaching eight times the cost price. The farmers sell the tender coconuts at Rs 8 - Rs 10.

Consumers can expect the situation to worsen next month, as the demand for coconuts will further increase due to the Tamil months of Chithirai and Vaikasi when temples use a lot of coconuts for festivities.

Coconut is cultivated in more than 3.1 lakh hectares in the State. While the tree needs an average of 100 litres of water a day, due to scarcity the farmers are providing not even 30-40 litres. Thousands of trees lay parched due to this.