The export of active carbon earnings such as coconut shell products has been able to achieve an increase of 11.25 percent up to 11.7 million USDs in 2024 February said Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries says the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera.
A special program was held yesterday at the Southern Lanka Coconut Training Center in Madamulana to mark the completion of 52 anniversaries since the establishment of the Coconut Cultivation Board. Chairman of the Coconut Cultivation Board Dr. Madhavi Herath and General Manager Athila Wijesinghe and other officials participated in this commemorative ceremony which was presided over by the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera.
Coconut growers, farmers and industrialists participated in this event and distributed coconut saplings as well as granting loans under Kapruka Credit Investment Program. At the same time, an awareness program was also implemented under the theme of ‘Protecting the Kapruka like the children’ by focusing on school students.
Here, the minister distributed coconut saplings as well as loans to the beneficiaries under the Kapruka loan investment program.
The Minister who expressed his views here, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has issued a report on the progress of exporting products related to the coconut industry in the country for the month of February.
Accordingly, compared to the month of February 2023, the export income of coconut and related products has grown by 25.17 percent in the month of February 2024. By exporting coconut water, 3439 metric tons have been exported in the month of February 2024 and an income of 894 million rupees has been earned.
Export of coconut milk has earned an income of 2971 million rupees in the month of February this year. Also, in terms of active carbon earnings, the export of coconut shell products has been able to achieve an increase of 11.25 percent up to 11.7 million USDs in 2024.
Also, it has been predicted that this year we will be able to reach the goal of earning one billion USDs in income from export coconut and its related products for the first time.
However, in order to get more income from coconuts and related products, we can avoid wasting coconuts. Our country is the first country in the world that wastes coconuts. I advise the Coconut Cultivation Board as well as the Coconut Development Authority to take steps to provide people with new technical knowledge on how to reduce wastage in using coconut for food.
It is also predicted that we will be able to reach 3000 million coconuts this year. In the past, our main export crops were tea, coconut and rubber. Later, this position has taken over the supplies services such as house maids. Now again, tea, coconut and rubber stand out as the most profitable plantation crops in the world.
Therefore, the minister also said that we have to dedicate ourselves to achieve rapid growth in these sectors.
