IAS Gyan

Daily News Analysis

Coir Industry of India    

28th September, 2021 Agriculture

 

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Context

  • Union Minister for MSME Narayan Rane has called for developing Coir Industry in Konkan, North and North-Eastern region of the country and expand the market network.
  • Konkan region has great opportunities for development of Coir Industry, as its coastal areas have good coconut crop.

 

India’s Coir Industry

  • India contributes 70% of the global production of Coir and 80% of the world trade in Coir products.
  • Kerala produces 60% of the total world supply of white coir fibre.
  • Sri Lanka produces 36% of the total world brown fibre output.
  • Over 50% of the coir fibre produced annually throughout the world is consumed mainly in India.
  • Together India and Sri Lanka produce 90% of the 250,000 metric tons of coir produced every year.
  • Coir industry provides employment to more than 7.3 lakh people in rural areas, 80% of which are women.
  • Acceptability of Coir products has increased rapidly due to its 'environment friendly' image.
  • During the year 2020-21, the export of coir and coir products reached an all time high of Rs 3778.97 crore, with a growth rate of 17% in quantity and 37% in value, despite COVID adversities.
  • The top five coir importing countries from India are the US followed by China, the Netherlands, South Korea, and the UK, according to the ministry’s 2020-21 annual report.

 

Steps being taken to boost the Coir Industry

  • Coir Board, under the MSME Ministry, is looking to take multiple steps to promote coir usage, create awareness among entrepreneurs, and train youth for employment in the sector.
  • Under the Ministry’s CVY-Skill Upgradation & Mahila Coir Yojana scheme, the board will be providing training to 600 beneficiaries in different coir processing technologies to enable employment and thereby revenue generation in the sector by availing Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme and SFURTI schemes.
  • The Board is creating awareness among coir artisans through Entrepreneurship Development Programmes and awareness programmes about MSME Ministry’s schemes such as SFURTI, Market Development Programmes for strengthening the export sector, etc.
  • An Action Plan Target has been fixed for the FY 2021-22 for providing skill training to potential beneficiaries and thereby developing coir industry in the zone.

 

Significance

  • Coir Industry is a traditional, labor intensive, agro-based and export oriented industry.
  • The industry converts waste into wealth as the raw material used is throw away waste.
  • The coir industry is one of India's traditional industries that is economically as well as environmentally very important.

 

Coir Board

  • The Coir Board is a statutory body established by the Government of India under the Coir Industry Act 1953 for the promotion and development of the coir (coconut fibre) industry in India.
  • It is based in Kochi and Alappuzha. The board works for the promotion, research, education, and training of the industry.
  • The board functions under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

 

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1758649