The Coconut Development Authority (CDA) of Sri Lanka is the statutory apex organization established

under the provisions of the Coconut Development Act No. 46 of 1971. It is responsible to work for the
development of the coconut industry in Sri Lanka and functions under the Ministry of Plantation
Industries.

White Oil - Extracted from best quality copra and retains its natural qualities such as taste, flavour and
nutrition. It is ideal for frying and cooing. It contains free fatty acid (FFA) percentage of less than 0.8%.

SUPPORT INSTITUTIONS Ministry of Coconut Development & Janatha Estate

Development Coconut Development Authority (CDA) Coconut Research Institute
(CRI) Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB) Industry Development Board (IDB)
Coconut Products Associations

Season: April-November (fresh affected most, but processors also face shortages)

9. KEY PLAYERS The top five players in the industry are as follows: 1. Silver Mill
Holdings Ltd 2. Jafferjee Brothers 3. Hayleys Group 4. Jacobi Carbons Lanka Pvt Ltd
5. Canro Exporters

Organic coconut oil is the main ingredient in our world-renowned soaps and lends them
their rich and cleansing lather. We also source food-grade organic coconut oil for our line of
premium White and Whole Kernel Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO).
In addition to our SerendiKenya project in Kenya, our organic coconut oil comes from our
sustainable Serendipol project in Sri Lanka, where we also source our food-grade coconut
oil. Built, owned and operated by Dr. Bronners and local partners, it has become the worlds
foremost source of certified Fair Trade and organic VCO.
With over 750 organic farmers and 275 staff members in our factory in Kuliyapitiya, we have
a major impact on local community development. We pay fair prices to our farmers and
support them with organic inputs and organic agriculture training, which improves soil
quality, yields and profitability. The workers in our oil mill enjoy working conditions and
compensation uncommon in this industry and in an area that has few reliable jobs to offer
to its growing rural population.
The Fair Trade premium paid by Dr. Bronners and other customers for the oil is used for a
range of community development projects, such as setting up a composting operation to
support farmers with organic fertilizer at cost, supporting several regional clinics with critical
equipment, renovating schools and supporting vocational training, connecting remote

villages to the power grid and renovating bridges. These Fair Trade projects are selected by
a committee with broad-based representation. They are great opportunities for targeted
community development projects for which there are otherwise no funds available.
Serendipol has proven that producing VCO can be sustainable and fair, while supporting
rural development in a significant way.
Watch Coconut Rock, a video about our Fair Trade Coconut Oil project in Sri Lanka.
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/07/20/fin22.asp

Coconut, one of the major plantation crops plays a pivotal role in the economy of Sri
Lanka. in 2007 export earnings from coconut based products amounted to Rs. 24
billion.

About 30 major coconut products turned out from coconut fruit and other parts
of the palm had been exported to about 125 countries. However, escalation of
coconut prices to unprecedented levels within a short period has created a lot
of concern among consumers and coconut based industrialists.
The price of a nut in the retail market has shown a 76% increase from Rs. 17
per nut in December 2006 to Rs. 30 in June 2008. Coconut oil was sold at Rs.
180 per bottle in June 2008 against Rs. 80 per bottle in December 2006.
Despite a drastic price increase on the other side a severe shortfall of nut
supply has almost brought the number of coconut based industries to a
standstill during the first quarter of 2008.
Therefore, coconut prices and the coconut industry had been a crucial topic of
talk shows among the public and the media in the recent past. The Coconut
Development Authority was blamed for this situation and the CDA was almost
squeezed by the media and sector for an instant remedy.
Therefore although the CDAs mandate is mostly confined to the coconut
industry the CDA has to act promptly to ensure the availability of a sufficient
quantity of coconuts at a reasonable price to sustain the industry.
High prices

The price of a coconut is mostly determined by the National Annual Coconut

Production of the country. However, the average annual production of coconut
has hovered around 2,700 million to 2,800 million nuts without any progress

over the past decade and as such the productivity of land is also almost
stagnant at 3,000 nuts per annum/acre.
At the same time on average 75% of the nut production is consumed locally
and local consumption has been on the increase over the years due to the
population growth. As a result the surplus for the coconut based industries
such as desiccated coconut, copra, coconut oil, coconut milk and coconut milk
powder/coconut cream keeps shrinking.
Invariably the price of coconut in Sri Lanka remains much higher than other
countries. eg. Indonesia Rs. 13, India Rs. 19, Philippines Rs. 14. The removal
of VAT on coconut oil production has activated the coconut oil industry from a
mere 20,000 in 2005 to about 84,000 MT in 2007. As a result all coconut based
industries compete to procure the limited number of coconuts.
The domestic consumption of coconut oil and vegetable oils has been estimated
at about 160,000 MT per annum. The national production of coconut oil
amounted to around 84,000 MT in 2007, leaving a deficit of about 75,000 MT
of coconut oil in 2007. This is being met by other types of imported substitute
vegetable oils especially palm oil.
The local market prices of coconut and coconut oil are influenced or directly
determined by landing cost of imported coconut oil and other vegetable oils.
However, in the world market petroleumCRUDE OIL PRICES have skyrocketed
by about 130% from USD 62/Barrel to USD 142/Barrel within 15 months from
December 2006 to June 2008.
As a result most countries have started to use vegetable oil to produce a
substitute-fuel Bio Diesel and even some countries have gone to the extent to
enforce regulations to use a certain percentage of bio fuel blend as a
mandatory requirement.

This global development has had a direct impact on world vegetable OIL

PRICES
extent.

and invariably on our coconut oil and coconut prices to a greater

Prior to the early 80s Sri Lanka had achieved self-sufficiency in coconut
production. The total requirement of cooking oil was met by locally produced
coconut oil and despite this Sri Lanka exported a large quantity of desiccated
coconut, coconut oil and other coconut products.
However, with the population growth and the increased usage of vegetable oils
with the improvement in economic growth, the local consumption of vegetable
oil increased substantially and this pushed up the demand for vegetable oils.
Meanwhile, the fragmentation of coconut lands, pest and disease menace and
low out-turn of a new variety of coconuts (reduction in weight of kernel per
nut), poor management practices caused a negative impact on the net
availability of coconuts.
Therefore if Sri Lanka needs to achieve self-sufficiency again the present total
nut requirement will be about 4,000 million nuts as given in the table.
Safeguarding industry

This target is far from the present actual production situation of less than
3,000 million nuts. Even if we want to ensure that the coconut industry
operates at a sustainable level without much burden to the local consumers,
we should be able to achieve at least 3,500 million nuts per year in the short

run.
Therefore, we are obliged to formulate some effective short term, medium
term and long term measures to safeguard the industry and the consumers
interest.
The CDA has mooted a new concept known as wastage minimisation in coconut
usage. Sri Lanka is the highest per capita consumer of coconut in the world
amounting to about 95 nuts/per annum in the form of fresh nuts alone.
Thus the total consumption of coconut in Sri Lanka per annum amounted to
almost 2,451 million or 85% of the total production of 2,869 million nuts in
2007 in the form of fresh nut and coconut oil.
According to a CDA study about 35% of coconuts used for culinary purposes in
the household is wasted - 536 million per year due to inefficient extraction
methods and it is wasted along with the residue.
In addition a large quantity of fibre, coconut shell and coconut water are
wasted due to the present usage practice.
The total wastage in terms of value on coconut kernel, coir fibre, coconut shell,
coconut water and paring oil is estimated at around Rs. 25 billion per annum.
Apart from this transport, loading, unloading and storage costs much time and
money.
As such by popularising and promoting value added easy to use products such
as coconut milk, coconut milk powder, coconut cream, coconut paste and
desiccated coconut in the local market on a gradual phase over a period of five
to 10 years it is expected to save a substantial quantity of coconuts up to 200
million to 300 million nuts per annum.
By saving a substantial quantity of nuts in the household the surplus of the
nuts for the coconut industry could be improved.
To b e c o n t i n u e d

http://archives.dailynews.lk/2012/03/26/bus15.asp

http://coconutoil.com/coconut-oil-research/

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/141005/news/virgin-coconut-oil-exports-come-to-a-boil121218.html

http://archives.dailynews.lk/2012/03/26/bus15.asp

http://coconutoil.com/what-type-of-coconut-oil-is-best-how-to-choose-a-coconut-oil/