Alappuzha (Kerala) : A skill development centre for finishing works on coir products will be started in Alappuzha district soon. Efforts are under way to launch the centre within a month or so, Minister for Finance and Coir T.M. Thomas Isaac said here on Wednesday. He was inaugurating an office of Coir Mark of the Coir Board at Kalavoor.
The Minister said the coir industry was on the path of transformation. While modernization was essential for the growth of the industry, the interests of about 1.5 lakh workers in the sector would have to be protected. The industry would have no future without improvement in quality. Subsidy would be given to coconut farmers’ clusters to set up defibring units.
He said geotextiles would be promoted in a substantial way. A demonstration village for coir production and products would be set up at Mararikulam. The Minister sought the help of Coir Board for new initiatives in the coir sector.
Quality control
Coir Board chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan said the office of the coir mark scheme would be helpful in improving quality control measures. The export of coir products reached an all time high of Rs.1,901 crore in 2015-16, against Rs.1,603 crore in 2014-15.
Trade inquiries worth $ 54.5 lakh were received at the India International Coir Fair held at Coimbatore in July this year. The Board would put thrust on products such as coir wood, coir pith and geotextiles which were in good demand.
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