No takers for coir, cashew

It seems that the state government has forgotten the traditional industries of the state which are means of livelihood for many. At a time when the state government is gearing up to woo investors with mega projects, traditional sectors such as coir and cashew have poor representation at the investors’ meet.

Coir, handlooms and cashew are considered to be the major traditional industries of the state. Of these, Kerala is losing its supremacy in the coir business owing to various reasons. With over three lakh direct workers, the coir sector is the largest traditional industry in the state. Handloom comes next in line. “Though there are a number of projects, it seems that the government has forgotten the importance of the traditional sector in our economy. We, through a representation, had recently urged the state government to include traditional sectors in projects for ‘Emerging Kerala’, but our request seems to have fallen on deaf ears,” said K N Marzook, chairman of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

A modern coir retting unit at Harippad is the only project proposed for the coir industry at ‘Emerging Kerala’. “As far as the coir sector is concerned, low cost production of coir fibre from coconut husk has to be ensured by systematic collection of husk from farmers and conversion to fibre by a mechanised process to be set up on a large-scale by private entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, there are no such efforts,” he said. Almost all traditional sector industries are struggling to survive mainly because of high production cost, poor quality of products, inappropriate technology and lack of professional marketing.