PANAJI
A quiet intervention by the Goa State Horticulture Corporation Limited (GSHCL) has begun to steady coconut prices, with jumbo-sized coconuts now selling for nearly half the rates they touched only weeks ago.
The Corporation’s “no profit, no loss” scheme, launched in mid-August, is being credited for curbing runaway prices in the run-up to Ganesh Chaturthi.
The first consignment of 25,000 coconuts brought in from Shivamogga in Karnataka sold out in just two days, pushing GSHCL to arrange fresh supplies within no time to meet the demand.
The second batch, which arrived on Monday, is expected to be cleared by Saturday while a third lot of 25,000 coconuts will reach Goa on Sunday.
“We are selling through our outlets, four designated centres and mobile vans. We have noticed that once our coconuts began moving at cost price, open-market rates also dropped sharply,” GSHCL managing director Chandrahas Desai told The Goan.
Until recently, coconuts were selling for as high as Rs 80 per piece. With GSHCL retailing them -- irrespective of the size -- at Rs 40-45, vendors in the open market are now quoting around Rs 45 for smaller pieces and Rs 50-55 for jumbo size. “The intervention has been felt across nearly 1,200 horticulture outlets, where the response has been overwhelming,” Desai added.
The Corporation expects to bring in at least one lakh coconuts during the festival period. The Corporation Chairman said a review would be carried out after 11 days of Ganesh Chaturthi to decide whether the scheme needs to continue.
“If the market is still overheated, we will add more coconuts under a ‘no profit, no loss’ basis. If prices stabilise, we will restrict ourselves to stocking only for our outlets for sale, usually seen in other normal days,” he explained.
The GSHCL had admitted that erratic weather has affected the coconut production in the State.
