Tropical dreams

Shrikumar Pudwal demonstrates that there's more to the coconut than kernel and water – every single part of the coconut palm opens up a world of business opportunities

Traditionally, the coconut industry in India has been centred on copra-making, extraction of coconut oil, and coirmanufacturing.
Hence, no other non-traditional industries have made any strides. Viable processing technologies are now indigenously available in the country for the manufacture of varied products based on the coconut’s kernel, water, husk, shell and stem. The potential of coconut palm as a source of renewable energy is also being recognised.
The average production of biomass from a tree is around 100 kg a year, and accordingly, the annual output from one ha is not less than 15 tonnes. The average energy content of this biomass on a moisture-free basis is 4,200 kcal/kg. About 35-40 coconut trees would be sufficient to satisfy the cooking fuel requirements of a small family. In the pursuit of making Indian coconut products accessible to consumers across the world, there have been significant changes in the domestic markets in terms of product development and market integration.
The emphasis placed by the Coconut Development Board on evolving technologies for the development of new value-added products has yielded results, and product diversification and byproduct utilisation has gained momentum. Various research programmes sponsored by the board through premier research institutions in the country have led to the development of new technologies for the manufacture of coconut cream, spray-dried coconut milk powder, preserved and packed tender water, and coconut water-based vinegar. The pace of development of technologies and subsequent industrialisation has gained momentum consequent to the launch of the Technology Mission on Coconut in 2001. Various processing units have been established in different parts of the country for the commercial production of coconut products with the technologies so developed. After initial years of lethargy, the trade is on the rebound, fuelled by accelerated efforts of market promotion and product awareness, and a healthy import appetite from other countries.

COCONUT-SHELL–BASED INDUSTRIES
In the case of coconut shell utilisation, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are far ahead of India. Considering the immense potential and the need for the promotion of shell-based industries in the country, the board has played a salutary role. In India, coconut shells are used as fuel in households, bakeries, brickyards, limekilns, iron foundries and other small-scale industries. It is a natural product made up of hardened cellulose with high lignin content, which renders it very durable, resisting quick degradation and easy decomposition even under wet conditions. This product has captured the attention of the elite in Western countries who are slowly doing away with synthetic non-biodegradable packaging, and going in for naturally available biodegradable alternatives. The coconut shell, which is the only material container that is characterised by varying sizes, toughness levels and durability levels, has assumed importance worldwide.
A few copra-processing units in Kerala exported 12 lakh coconut shells in the form of ice-cream cups, forks, spoons and hookahs, to Spain, Italy, France and other European countries. In fact, export enquiries from countries like US, the Netherlands, Austria, and other Western countries outweigh the total production of coconut shells in the country. The shell is certain to find new uses as a packaging medium throughout the world. This would not only help to earn valuable foreign exchange for the country but also generate employment opportunities for the rural public. The coconut shell is, today, being commercially exploited for the manufacture of coconut-shell powder, coconut-shell charcoal and activated carbon. The value additions to the coconut shell have a salubrious effect in increasing farm-level income, which is a prerequisite for making the...

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