Kerala Minister of Agriculture, P. Prasad informed that Kerafed, the leading cooperative alliance of coconut producers will now source raw coconut directly from the farmers. The procurement will take place in three districts where prices were initially below Rs.32 per kg, the minister said while replying to a calling attention motion moved by Kurukkoli Moideen of IUML.
For this, the procurement centers will be opened at Kerafed regional office in Anayara, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerafed office in Trisul Poochinnipadam and Coconut Processing and Marketing Association in Perumpadappu neighborhood of Ponnani, Malappuram.
In these three districts, the prices of coconuts have plummeted to Rs.31 per kilogram. Prasad said that more centers will be opened if required.
The government has not yet met the country’s repeated requirements for Kerala’s specific minimum support price MSP for raw coconuts. The Agriculture Minister said such a step is necessary if coconut farmers are to benefit from it.
Nodal Agencies
The state has increased the procurement price of coconuts to Rs.32 in budget 2021-22, he said. The government also designated Kerafed and Kerala Coconut Development Corporation as nodal agencies.
Moideen had called the attention of Agriculture Minister to the necessity of buying raw coconut on panchayat basis & increasing the procurement price to help struggling growers. He asked the Agriculture Department to open more procurement centres to help them.
About Kerafed
KERAFED is the Kerala Apex Coconut Farmer Cooperative Federation and is the largest coconut oil producer in India. It has two oil mills, one is located in Karunagappally, Kollam, and the other is located in Naduvannur, Kozhikode. KERAFED's coconut oil complex in Karunagapally, Kollam district, is one of the largest such units in India, with a daily production capacity of 250 tons.
Moreover, Coconut oil brand “KERA” is produced by KERAFED from the highest quality copra, purchased directly from coconut growers in Kerala. As a result, the obtained copra is treated with the most modern technologies. In the selection and processing of copra, KERAFED employs strict quality control measures to ensure product excellence and purity. A unique two-step filtration process is used by KERAFED to retain the original aroma & flavor of coconut oil for a long time.
