Spurt in demand for coir pith has resulted in higher prices for coir fibre and husks in Pollachi in Coimbatore district.
Pollachi, known for its coconut groves, has over 60 coir exporting units and all of them are working to full capacity.
The price of coir pith is ₹52 a kg as against ₹16 a kg in October 2024 and the price of fibre is ₹12 a kg compared with ₹7 last year. In the case of husk, farmers used to sell it for 50 paisa piece and it is ₹3 now.
About 100 container loads of pith are exported from Pollachi almost every day, said S. Mahesh Kumar, president of the Indian Coir Pith Association.
With poor rainfall and pest attack affecting coconut farms in Pollachi last year, the coconut farmers are seeing 30% drop in production.
However, the rain is good this year and the demand for coir fibre and pith have shot up in the last few months.
“We used to export mainly to the US and the EU. Now, there is a huge demand from China and South American countries. This is because of the growing trend of cultivating berries, especially blue berries, in grow bags. Coir pith is a suitable medium for the cultivation of blue berries,” he said.
Apart from the continuing demand for coir fibre from China, the demand for coir pith has also shot up, pushing prices up. “The farmers have benefitted immensely from spurt in demand and prices as the coconut husk prices have increased multi-fold,” he said.
Published – October 29, 2025 07:46 pm IST
