The Board deputy director, marketing, PT Thomas said it had already taken an in-principle decision to promote coconut as a dry fruit during the Ninth Plan period. The board would earmark necessary funds for the project in the Ninth Plan document.

The scheme, according to Thomas, is to give more importance to coconut as an edible seed than an oil one. As coconut oil is premium priced, the coconut prices have a perfect correlation with the price of the oil. The board was working out methods to reduce this price dependency, he said. He said the board had already tested the waters by introducing modern drying equipment to the farmers. The scheme, which has been under way forquite some time, offers financial assistance for small holding farmers to buy the coconut dryers.

He said under the scheme the board would provide financial assistance to the tune of 50 per cent of the cost or Rs 10,000, whichever is lower, to the farmers.

For Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the schemes offers subsidy to the tune of 75 per cent of the cost or Rs 15,000. He said the average price of the drying machine was to the tune of Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000.

Copra as a commodity already had its own market and a feasible way to ensure a stable and fair price was to promote it as an edible nut. At present 35 per cent of the total coconut production was converted into milling copra.

He said the practice followed for the production of milling copra was sun drying the split nut in the open drying yard. Apart from the duration of seven to eight days required for the manufacturing of copra by the above method, the resultant product would be of inferior quality, following various contaminations.

"Itis to avoid this that the Board plans to promote the alternative method of producing copra through indirect hot air dryer method," he said. He said the copra produced in the air dryer method would be of best quality and would carry a premium of Rs 300 to Rs 400 per quintal. The Board was opposed to any further capacity addition in the coconut oil industry. He said according to a survey conducted by the board earlier, the total capacity of the industry, excluding the three plants put up by the Kerafed recently, was 31 lakh tonnes per annum while the total production was around 7.2 lakh tonnes, leaving a huge portion of the capacity unutilised.

"This excess capacity is an anathema for the industry," he added.