Efforts to improve coir industry

The Industrial Development Board (IDB), in association with the Industrial Services Bureau (ISB), and ILO Enter-Growth conducted several interviews and workshops with coir industry stakeholders, using a new approach to value chain development.

The main findings and proposals were presented earlier this month at a workshop in Negombo. By presenting the results of its value chain research, the initiative has completed stage one and is now entering stage two, which will see the implementation of the proposals, a press release from the organisers said.

A temporary value chain steering group, consisting of private and public stakeholder relevant for the coir industry, has been set up to prioritise and discuss the details of implementation.

The first meeting of the group will be held on September 16. The programme was aimed at developing the coir sector in the North-Western Province through its Value Chain Development for more competitiveness and decent work.

The release said the coir industry faces many challenges which need to be overcome in order to remain competitive in the global market. For instance husk supply collection remains too weak to meet the increasing demand for coir fibre, coir extraction from the husk still poses a high health risk and affects labour recruitment and productivity while opportunities to produce value-added coir products at rural level are not fully exploited.