Sri Lanka’s coir and coir product export industry is gradually gaining momentum amidst the COVID-19 crises as most of the fibre mills and processing factories resume production within weeks of the virus outbreak.
A limited number of workers have been called for work and they are currently working at half the production capacity which will be gradually increased with the picking up of coir product imports from overseas, the coconut byproduct exporters said.
But the operations are yet to become full-fledged as the cancellation of export orders by COVID-19 affected countries have disrupted the local coir substrate production process.
Coconut husk-related products with an average export earning of over US$200 million per year constitutes 33 per cent of the total export of coconut products from the country.
Given Sri Lanka’s significant coconut crop which leads to an abundance of coconut husks, the country has grown to become a leader in the coconut substrate export industry although it has been disrupted at present.
However, innovation and maintaining consistently high quality value added products are important ingredients in leveraging the existing market opportunity in the aftermath of COVID-19, Growrite Substrates Ltd. Managing Director Dinesh Fernando said.
Sri Lanka earns $0.6 billion from the exports of desiccated coconut and coconut by products and it has the potential of becoming $1 billion industry via value added exports, exporters emphasised.
(LIN)