INTRODUCTION

Found throughout the tropic and subtropic area, the coconut is known for its great versatility as
seen in the many uses of its different parts. Coconuts are part of the daily diets of many people.
Coconuts are different from any other fruits because they contain a large quantity of "water" and when
immature they are known as tender-nuts or jelly-nuts and may be harvested for drinking. hen mature,
they still contain some water and can be used as seednuts or processed to give oil from the kernel,
charcoal from the hard shell and coir from the fibrous husk. !he endosperm is initially in its nuclear
phase suspended within the coconut water. "s development continues, cellular layers of endosperm
deposit along the walls of the coconut, becoming the edible coconut "flesh". hen dried, the coconut
flesh is called copra. !he oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying#
coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. !he clear liquid coconut water within is
drinkable. !he husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing
and decorating. $t also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it
Coconut Plantation in SRIKAKULAM :
Among horticulture crops, cashew occupies the first place. Coconut gardens are extensively raised in
the Uddanam area comprising of Kavity, Kancili, Som!eta and Manda"a# Other important
horticulture crops grown in the district are mango, Banana, Pineapple and Oil palm.
The area under major horticultural crops and production in the district is indicated in the following
table
Area o$ %orticulture Cro!" in te Di"trict
%orticulture Cro! Area &ectare"'
!ashew "#$#$
Coconut ()*+,
Banana %%&&
'ango ()&&
!ustard apple "&&
Pineapple "$&&
*uava "+&
Oil Palm ""&&
!ultivation of coconuts and extraction of coir fiber and its further processing have ta,en deep
roots in the district of -ri,a,ulam. The rapid expansion of coconut cultivation in non.
traditional areas increased the production of coconut and the industry has developed
gradually. !oir industry in /ndia is one of the important rural cottage industries. /t provides
source of income to about "&&& artisans in rural areas. 0omen constitute 1&2 of the wor,
force in coir industry.
On the demand side, !oir Products appear to be facing tremendous global competition from other
hard fibre. Also, price fluctuations seem to have become a perennial feature of the coir.mar,ets.
'ar,eting therefore has become a major problem in recent years and the future prospects of the
industry depend on the expansion of domestic as well as the foreign mar,ets.
The manufacturers of the original and the major product sector of the coir.household have a very low
direct access to the mar,ets. The Traders and 3xporters control the entire mar,eting business due to
their higher financial strength and procure goods only on job.wor, basis. The actual producers find it
beyond their own means to hold the products for a long time before mar,eting it directly. 4ue to a
limited access to mar,et, the traditional yarn and other product manufacturers are always engaged in
price wars and are even found to compromise on 5uality aspects in order to ma,e their products
cheaper.
It i" e"timated tat te current level o$ !roduction o$ coir te indu"try utili-e" around ./0 o$
te annual $ield o$ coconut u"1 in te country# Tere i" !o""i2ility to increa"e te utili-ation to
at lea"t /+0 o$ u"1 !roduction $or variou" !ur!o"e"# Tere$ore, tere e3i"t" va"t !otential
$or "te!!in4 u! o$ !roduction o$ coir# Te increa"ed utili-ation o$ coconut u"1 a2undantly
availa2le in te coconut 4ro5in4 area !rovide" "co!e $or develo!ment o$ $i2er !roce""in4
"ector and au4ment" rural em!loyment#
Unta!!ed Coconut 6alue addition in SRIAKAKULAM Di"t
A large number of coconut products are manufactured in the country which have both domestic and
export mar,et.
6inegar and soft drin, are manufactured in the country from coconut water. Tender
coconut water concentrate is another product which is manufactured and mar,eted
successfully. 7now.how for the preservation and pac,ing of tender coconut water has
been transferred to six firms in the country. 8ata.de.coco is a gelatinous delicacy formed
by the action of a micro.organism Acetobactor xylinium in a culture medium of coconut
water.

Coconut Product":
%. Tender Coconut 7ater
Neera