Coir Board office opened

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Coir Board Chairman V.S. Vijayaraghavan has said that the coir industry is poised for a big leap ahead.



Mr. Vijayaraghavan, who was inaugurating the regional office of the board in Sankar Lane at Sathamangalam here on Monday, said coir exports were expected to reach Rs.1,000 crore during the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Coir and coir products estimated at Rs.623 crore were exported till January 31 this year. The exports were expected to touch the Rs.750-crore mark by the end of the financial year. The target fixed by the Centre was Rs.700 crore.



He said there was a huge scope for increasing the domestic market.



Orders had been issued appointing the Coir Board as the nodal agency for procuring coir and coir products at DGS and D rates for Central public sector undertakings and Central government offices.



V. Sivankutty, MLA, presided over the function. The sale of pith plus for converting pith into organic manure was inaugurated by G. Karthikeyan, MLA. The workshop organised for coir workers and industrialists as part of the programme was inaugurated by Anathalavattam Anandan, MLA.