The Coir Board has sought the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in setting up a National Coir Mission for the holistic development of industry in view of its potential for growth in rural employment generation.
In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister during his recent Kerala visit, Board chairman VS Vijayaraghavan said coir products were facing stiff competition from other natural fibre products and synthetics in the international market.
If effective steps were not taken immediately, it would have a cascading effect on the coir product exports, which had touched Rs 804 crore last year as compared with Rs 593 crore during 2007-08, registering an increase of 35.58 per cent. Coir export was one among the few sectors that had withstood the global economic recession, he said.
To overcome these hurdles, he suggested speedy modernisation of the traditional coir sector, extension of more incentives for coir product exports as well as for domestic market development, introduction of a fool proof mechanism to augment procurement of raw materials, especially raw husk, for the uninterrupted working of the production sector and implementation of more welfare measures to the workers.
He also sought special package for the sector over a period of five years. Production of coir fibre has increased 17.74 per cent from 4,37,800 tonnes to 5,15,500 tonnes. The number of coir product manufacturing units had also gone up from 11,024 to 14,050, registering a growth of 27.44 per cent, providing additional employment generation to the extent of 26,450 artisans, predominantly women.
The memorandum was submitted in connection with the Kerala Development Congress organised by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee in Thiruvananthapuram. He also said the detailed memorandum on the constitution of the National coir mission was being routed through the Union Ministry of MSME under which the Coir Board functions.