PANAJI
In a bid to meet the rising demand ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival and to stabilise the market prices, the Goa government is set to procure around one lakh coconuts from neighbouring State of Karnataka to supplement domestic supply and address price volatility. The coconut will be sold through Goa Horticulture outlets and mobile vans across the State at subsidised rates.
Following directions from Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik, the Agriculture Department and the Goa State Horticulture Corporation to procure coconut from other States and supply it to the consumers during festival season on no profit no loss basis. In the first round, 25,000 coconuts are set to come from Karnataka in the coming two days.
Speaking to The Goan, Corporation Managing Director Chandrahas Dessai said that first consignment of 25,000 jumbo sized coconuts are arriving from Karnataka in the coming two days. “They will be made available across four Corporation-run outlets and other horticulture outlets apart from making it available through the Corporation’s vegetable mobile van in the villages,” he said.
Dessai said that the price is not yet decided but it would be sold at a subsidised rate that is Rs 5 to Rs 10 less than the market price. “This is a festive season and we have to see that coconuts are available to the consumers at an affordable rate,” he said.
Highly placed sources confirmed that the plan is to procure almost one lakh coconuts from Karnataka vendors and make it available to the public at subsidised rate ensuring no profit no loss to the Corporation. “The aim is to supplement the domestic supply and also stabilise market prices of the coconut, which are currently skyrocketing,” sources said.
Currently, the coconuts are sold at prices ranging from Rs 25 per coconut to Rs 75 per coconut based on the size. The vendors claim that due to early monsoons in May, no fruit plucking took place from May till now and also there is the harvest issue.
Dessai said that the situation is expected to normalise post Ganesh. “Currently there are not much Goa coconuts in the market. These are all imported ones hence the price is more,” he said.
Currently, the farmers are getting a minimum assured price of Rs 15 per coconut. Sources said that at present, some farmers, where plucking has taken place, are selling their coconut at Rs 24 to Rs 34 per coconut varying sizes to the traders, who in turn are selling it at Rs 45 to Rs 70 in the market.
“Apart from plucking, a sizable number of coconuts are going for oil extraction and also tender coconut plucking thus affecting proper harvest and yield,” sources said.
