Coconut Price May Zoom In TN As 28 Lakh Diseased Trees Face Axe

COCONUT farmers in Coimbatore district have been caught in an existential crisis as 28 lakh coconut trees spread across 40,000 acres in the district may have to be felled in the next two years due to Kerala root wilt disease infestation.

- M SARAVANAN

While the price of coconut has increased from ₹18-19/kg in 2023 to ₹55/kg now, a record three-fold jump in two years, due to the fall in cultivation area because of felling of trees, the cutting exercise too has cast a huge financial burden on farmers. Currently, the government provides a compensation of ₹32,000/hectare for cutting and replanting trees but the actual cost of the exercise is ₹12.5 lakh per hectare (almost 40 times more), say farmers. It will also take at least three to five years for the crops to start producing yield.

"Spread across 12 lakh acres in 29 districts, Tamil Nadu has the second largest area under coconut cultivation in India after Karnataka. The total crop area in Coimbatore alone is 2.10 lakh acres. Coconut is the second largest oil crop after groundnut in TN," said Esan Murugasamy, founder of Tamilaga Vivasayigal Pathukappu Sangam.