Coconut crisis: Growers raise key questions at crucial meeting
The absence of the Minister in charge of coconuts (Plantation Minister Navin Dissanayake) or his deputy at last week’s 23rd AGM of the Coconut Growers Association of Sri Lanka (CGASL) irked members who expressed disappointment over the absence of senior government politicians at a crucial meeting.
During the question and answer session, a member said that it was regretted that this is the first time that a responsible officer of the government was not present to consider their issues and offer solutions. While invitations had been extended to the Minister in charge of the subject, his deputy and the Ministry Secretary, none was present at the meeting.
Some of the members pointed out that the coconut industry is at a critical stage as there are the issues of palm oil imported in bulk and openly mixed with coconut oil. The government is also moving to import coconut while there is a ban of insecticides and weedicides, with one member pointing out that due to the ban, 20 per cent of his plants were dying.
Another major hurdle is that of large scale coconut thefts and pilfering which is taking place in their estates. Several members accused the police of demanding coconuts from these estates. One member said that though the watchers in these estates are armed, they cannot use them and what really happens is that the thieves either get round the watcher or threaten him to steal coconut.
One of the members, Prof, Deepal Mathew told the Business Times on the sidelines of the AGM that, before banning these (chemicals) the responsibility of the government is to provide alternatives that are equally effective.
Jayantha B. Samarakoon was elected the new president of the CGASL.
Outgoing President Lionel Fonseka presenting the annual report said that attempts to import cheap coconut is a major concern for the coconut industry as it is already facing several major issues resulting in a production drop.
He said that there is a solution to this issue, which has to be looked at from a national angle as there are more than two million people directly dependent on coconut cultivation, the majority being poor people who earn a living by selling a few nuts.
He said that for the sake of some companies who want coconut imports, the authorities should not betray the livelihood of the poor coconut growers. He urged the coconut processing sector to be mindful of the industry that is now on the verge of falling, to think of the national interest and be prepared to sacrifice a portion of their profits during the difficult times to develop the coconut palm industry in Sri Lanka.
He said that during the first half of 2016 the wholesale price of a nut was Rs. 20 but during September that year it rose to Rs. 36. Subsequently the nut production was low and the price rose to between Rs. 40 to 45, yet the total income of the grower dropped.
Today, he pointed out that the coconut industry is faced with two major problems – one of the most severe droughts during the past 18 months while the average temperature is on the increase, affecting the pollination of coconut flowers, adversely. Problem two is the pressure from the coconut processing people to import coconut. He said that no sooner they had information that coconuts were to be imported they met the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Economic Development and represented matters as to why imports should be prevented. He said the current drop in production is around 500 million nuts, but he stressed that imports is not the solution and pointed out that there would be the danger of pests and diseases coming through imported nuts.
He said that according to statistics 2,100 million nuts are used annually for household consumption and out of it around 30 per cent go waste. If the waste can be avoided there would be a saving of around 420 million nuts. He said that while a major portion of the production is consumed domestically only about 400 million nuts would be available for the industry, out of a crop of over 2,000 million nuts, annually. Several presentations were made by experts that were useful for the coconut growers during the AGM.