Indian coir industry, largely made up of small business units, needs a strong strategy to maintain growth against shifts in the global economic scenario. The domestic coir industry provides employment to thousands of artisans in rural areas and contributes significantly to the national economy. At present, the industry is facing some severe challenges, which have adversely affected export of traditional coir products.
“The Coir Board and the state governments together should chalk out suitable measures to help the industry overcome the prevailing crisis,” says John Chacko, chairman of Indian Coir Association (ICA). He continues, “The major current challenges of the coir industry are low quality of raw material available at high prices and shortage of skilled labourers. Things took a turn for the worse with the sudden hike in demand for coir fibre from China resulted in doubling of raw material costs here and simultaneously affected the quality of the same. Also, attractive remuneration in other sectors are prompting workers to migrate, creating a vacuum of skilled manpower in the coir industry.”
Export of handloom mats declined to 29,500 tonnes in 2011-12 from 43,000 tonnes in 2006-07. The coir industry needs focussed government support in terms of funding and technology up gradation. The Coir Board and state governments need to work closely with the MSME Ministry to facilitate programmes such as the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) allocated to the textile industry. It is of utmost importance to develop spinning machines, which can substantially increase productivity and help coir industry workers earn higher wages. To showcase traditional coir products, the Coir Board would soon organise a Coir Expo in Alappuzha, Kerala. The expo would also highlight the achievements made by the research wing of the Coir Board named Central Coir Research Institute.
