Kochi: Coir exports are likely to exceed the target fixed for the current financial year because of strong demand for coir fibre and curled coir from China.
While the market for traditional handloom products like coir mats, rugs and carpets is fast declining, demand for machine manufactured PVC tufted mats and coir raw materials has risen, Coir board sources said.
Exports during the first 10 months of the current financial year has already surpassed the performance of last fiscal and looks like exceeding the target of Rs 700 crore, board chairman VS Vijayaraghavan told FE.
According to figures provided by the Coir board, exports in April-January stood at Rs 623.55 crore as against Rs 523.93 crore in the first ten months of 2008-09. Exports are up by 35.87% in volume and 19.01% in value terms in the ten months as compared to the same period of last financial year.
Exports in 2008-09 stood at 189,858 tonne valued at Rs 623 crore.
Statistics provided by the Coir Board said that Indian exports in 2008-09 increased by 1.2% in volume and 5.2% in value terms, despite suffering reversals in the last few months.
India exported 187,566 tonne of coir products in 2007-08 valued at Rs 592.88 crore, as against 168,754.75 tonne valued at Rs 605.16 crore in 2006-07.
With China and Korea increasingly consuming large volumes of curled coir and fibre from India , the domestic manufacturing sector is facing a shortage of raw materials, board sources said.
However, sustained export of raw materials has helped in improving the export performance despite drop in demand from traditional markets like US and Europe .
For the last one-year, exports to China have been growing in leaps and bounds and in the recent months Korea has also joined the fray.
Chinese importers use this fibre (raw coir) to make coir mattress for exports, board sources said.
China controls almost 40% of the Australian mattress market. They are keen on expanding their market share and Chinese Government is helping the exporters by providing subsidized freight, sources added.
Exports of coir fibre have increased by 461% in volume and 444% in value terms between April to January of 2009-10 as compared with the same period of last fiscal. Similarly, curled coir exports are up by 83% in volume and 149% in value for the same period.
Source : Financial Express