As many as 156 international buyers from 54 countries in addition to domestic buyers are expected to participate in Coir Kerala 2016, which will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here tomorrow.
Coir Kerala 2016 is the sixth edition of the world's biggest annual trade event on coir and natural fibres.
The five-day event will bring together scientists, researchers and policymakers and facilitate discussions of strategies and new initiatives to create jobs, better the conditions of coir workers, as also raise productivity and earnings across the industry, state Minister for Revenue and Coir Adoor Prakash told reporters here today.
"Following the announcement at last year's Coir Kerala to accelerate coir husk procurement, production rose from 25,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes," he said.
"The government is targeting 75,000 tonnes by the end of this fiscal year," he said.
Noting that "the required value for self-sustainability in coir fibre production is 2.25 metric tonne," he added that the government had taken steps to ramp up production.
"The government has distributed Rs 4.5 crore among co-operative sectors and earmarked Rs 5.5 crore to the Coir corporation's purchase price stabilisation scheme," the minister said.
Coir Kerala is also a showcase for an array of innovative coir products and technologies to increase sector productivity and profitability.
The international pavilion will have 125 stalls while the national pavilion will feature 135 stalls.
The Government of Kerala initiated the Coir Kerala programme in 2011 to rejuvenate the coir sector through fillips to production and branding.
Thiruvananthapuram-based National Coir Research and Management Institute is the event's coordinating agency.
