THE COCONUT Industry Board (CIB) last year recorded its lowest ever yield in the production of copra. Board figures show that for 2001, there was a yield of 61 tons, 341 tons less than the 402 tons produced in 2000.
Hailing the decline as a "move in the right direction", CIB chairman Dr. Richard Jones told coconut growers on Saturday that they should continue to divert their interests from the production of copra, the bake-dried kernel of the coconut from which oil is extracted for manufacturing cooking oil and soaps, and find other uses for their coconuts. He was speaking at the CIB's annual meeting of coconut growers at the Coke Methodist Church Hall in Kingston.
Effective October 1, 2003 Seprod, the main copra off-loader, will discontinue purchasing copra from the Board. And while some coconut growers are still suggesting a return to unlimited production of copra, Dr. Jones is encouraging them, "for their own good", to seek other alternatives. He said that it is impossible for the farmers to produce copra at a price that Seprod could purchase and still make a profit. The CIB has had to subsidise the cost of copra to ensure that coconut farmers were paid a reasonable price for their copra.
At 2000's meeting, Dr. Jones had said that there had been an increase in copra production in 1999, with 303 metric tons being produced, an increase of 32 metric tons over 1998.
Between January 1 and March 31 2000, 200 metric tons of copra were produced. Over the three-month period the CIB paid $3,784,000 for the quantity while Seprod paid $1,476,663, forcing the board to find subsidies to the tune of $2,307,337.
Dr. Jones said then that the Board could not afford any increase in this level of subsidy.
"Whatever the reason for the decline, this is a move in the right direction and I urge you to continue", Dr. Jones said, "I urge you in your own interest to continue to seek other uses for your coconuts."
He said that a return to unlimited production of copra would lead to a loss as "we would not be able to find buyers at a price that would make it viable and growers could not survive on the price the buyers would be willing to pay."
With a need to implement a market and product diversification programme, the CIB has an engineer with them presently. He is seeking to identify the machinery required for manufacturing certain coconut products under a Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) sponsored project proposal. This is for the manufacture of certain coconut products as a cottage industry in Jamaica to help provide a channel to dispose of coconuts. There is strong growth potential for the use of desicated coconuts in the baking and confectionary industry.
"The industry and the CIB will need to seriously look at the application of appropriate technology and the injection of investment capital to produce coconut flakes and products like coconut cream for which imports have increased by over 60 per cent in the last three years," state minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Jennifer Edwards said. Products recommended for development include coconut chips, bottled water, ice cream and desicated flakes.
