Coconut... life in the old tree yet
The millions of coconut palms that fringe tropical coasts were considered so versatile,
producing food and drink, oil, animal feed, timber, thatch, and fibre for ropes, mats and
mattresses that the palm was named tree of life. Although still important for domestic and
export markets in a few countries, particularly India and Sri Lanka, the production of coconut
fibre - coir - has been badly affected by competition from hydrocarbon-based synthetics. However,
with a consumer swing towards natural products and environmental concerns there is a good market
for coir as attractively designed coir floor coverings are in demand in many industrial countries.
There has also been an increase in the
quantity of new technology items such as rubberised coir and coir geotextiles.
Coir pith, generally exported in brick form, has caught on well as a natural soil conditioner and has generated good demand from Australia, the UK and other Western countries. Meanwhile, coir dust, which was previously considered waste and was burned, can be used as the base for potting composts: increasing quantities are likely to be required as the trend accelerates for amateur gardeners and professional horticulturists to switch from peat potting materials, which are often extracted from environmentally sensitive areas, to coir-based composts.
Whether major producing countries can regain lost markets and exploit the new opportunities will depend in part on their confidence and willingness to invest in new processing technology. A project to strengthen industrial capacity was funded by the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) and national counterpart organizations in India and Sri Lanka and was implemented during 1995-99. The project's objectives were to upgrade the processing technologies for drying, bleaching, softening, dyeing and printing of coir products. Technical support was provided by the FAO and a report prepared by Peter Steele, Senior Officer in the Agro-Industries and Post-Harvest Management Service of FAO observes that: "An important result has been the partnership arrangements that have developed between the India sub-continent and European industries and, above all, in the increased motivation and confidence seen within the national counterpart teams. Clearly the CFC/FAO/Governments partnership arrangement has worked satisfactorily this time, the people involved have gained enormously and some small advances have been made with technical innovation that will percolate into industrial use."
