Coconut Prices- Request to increase support price of copra

Tamil Nadu: As the diminishing market prices pose a severe threat to the profit margins, coconut farmers are keenly looking for government intervention to get the support price for copra increased.

Raising the matter at the grievances redress meeting organised by the district administration for farmers. The market price for copra had come down from Rs. 110 a kg to almost Rs. 56 a kg in the last one year, C. Manoharan, the district secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association.

He said, “Hoarding by traders and import of palm oil in large quantities can be cited as some of the reasons for the fall in prices.”

Apart from increasing the support prices, steps should be taken to distribute coconut oil through public distribution system so as to boost up the demand for coconut, said K.C.M. Balasubramanian, another farmer.

Collector G. Govindaraj distributed modern tractors and rotavators to 10 farmers at subsidised rates in an attempt to enthuse them to use latest technologies.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/