Cardinal spreads the joy of giving with coconuts (at a price no doubt)!
Lo! and behold the Cardinal comes bearing gifts of coconuts heralding new joy for the government in its efforts to assist in providing a continuous supply of nuts to the local market made available to consumers at Sathosa outlets at guaranteed prices (Rs.130).
While it is not clear the extent of coconut lands owned by the Catholic Church, a cashew and coconut estate in Mundalama, Puttalam owned by the Church with an extent of about 700 acres will be supplying the first consignment of coconuts to the Sathosa outlets tomorrow.
The Cardinal (Catholic Church) owns a large amount of acres of coconut and they have agreed to provide their coconuts to the Sathosa outlets, Coconut Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Shantha Ranatunga told The Sunday Times Business. The first batch of nuts of around 22,000 nuts will come from the Mundalama estate.
He noted that the CDA has also temporarily cancelled the auction held in Colombo for the second consecutive week.
The stocks that usually arrive at the auction will now be sent to the Sathosa outlets as the authorities have requested the state plantations and some private parties to also provide stocks at these government-run supermarkets to ensure prices would be controlled.
“Our intention is to eradicate the scarcity” in the market, Mr. Ranatunga said adding that prices are currently at Rs.110-130 (small and large nuts).
He pointed out that the industry is controlled by a mafia where dealers have increased prices in order to obtain abnormal profits.
The authorities are attempting to provide adequate coconuts for the local market. “We cannot meet the total domestic market requirement but we are trying to provide some relief to the consumer,” Mr. Ranatunga said.
Reacting to The Sunday Times Business article of last Sunday where it was highlighted that the Coconut Research Institute (CRI) is currently engaged in research to ensure whether Sri Lanka can import whole coconuts, he said Sri Lanka is one of the few countries imposing restrictions on the import of coconuts.
All other countries like Japan, Australia, China or the Philippines among others – whether they grow coconuts or not – import whole coconuts without the husk, he said.
In Sri Lanka the CRI and the Quarantine Department have raised their objections to import de-husked coconuts to the country stating that this could cause the spread of diseases.
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