LNP – Coconut harvest to drop further this year, imports to continue

The Coconut Research Institute has forecast a further decline of 250 million nuts crop for the first half of 2025 harvest during the first half of this year compared to last year, the current harvest stands at 1,407 million nuts for the first half of 2025, according to statistics from it.

Sri Lanka has now begun to import coconut related products to tackle the demand and supply issues in the market currently due to drop in annual coconut yield, which previously averaged 3 billion nuts. The harvest dropped to 2.68 billion nuts last year.

The first batch of imported coconut milk brought in by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Rural Infrastructure was inspected and accepted by officials of the Coconut Development Authority (CDA) at the Orugodawatte Container Terminal on June 2, an official said.

CDA Chairman Shantha Ranathunga told the Daily Mirror that “the quality of imports are being tested in the labs before being sent out.” The import deadline for the products will last till December 31.

Ranathunga said that 15 manufacturers had requested for imports of 36 different coconut products currently.

President of the Ceylon Chamber of Coconut Industries Jayantha Samarakoon said that the major reason for the current coconut shortage was the spike in fertilizer prices. Speaking at a media briefing held at the National Chamber of Commerce Auditorium in January, he mentioned that coconut imports are essential at this time to counter a severe shortage that threatens both domestic supply and export revenue.

The fertilizer costs increased from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 12,000 per 50 kg bag, which resulted in reduced use of fertilizer to less than 10 percent, further worsening the production slump.

The government announced that a 50-kilogram package of mixed fertilizer, valued at Rs. 9,500, were distributed to coconut growers nationwide at a subsidized price of Rs.4,000 from the 55,000 metric tons of fertilizer received from Russia.

The current seasonal harvest started in May after it got delayed by weather conditions and is expected to be completed in 3 months , the chairman of the CDA said.