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Economic Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Kerala's culinary identity in crisis as major coconut crunch throws cooking out of gear
Synopsis When thieves start forming organised gangs to steal coconuts from trees, you know something has gone wrong with the commodity market. In Kerala, a coconut that once cost Rs 25 now commands Rs 77— an over 200% price jump that has turned the state's most essential ingredient into an object of desire, desperation and even crime. As coconut prices soar, Kerala's farmers form vigilante squads to protect the precious fruit, restaurants measure coconut oil like liquid gold and memes mock the madness. Once G Jayapal used to sleep peacefully at night. These days, the general secretary of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association tosses and turns, haunted by visions of coconuts— not the kind you sip pina coladas from, but the humble brown orbs that have suddenly become more valuable than precious metals on India's spice coast.'My members are measuring coconut oil like it's liquid gold,' says Jayapal, whose federation represents nearly every eatery in Kerala, except the fancy restaurants in star hotels. 'We have gone from using coconut oil like water to rationing it drop by drop.'When thieves start forming organised gangs to steal coconuts from trees, you know something has gone wrong with the commodity market. In Kerala, a coconut that once cost Rs 25 now commands Rs 77— an over 200% price jump that has turned the state's most essential ingredient into an object of desire, desperation and even six months, retail prices of coconut oil have rocketed from Rs 200 a litre to about Rs 400 and Rs 500-750 in the case of premium brands — an increase that has left the state's food industry and consumers reeling. That's a bull run like Bitcoin, but unlike the abstract financial instrument, people need this stuff to eat. On a coast where coconut oil isn't just a cooking medium but cultural identity, the price explosion has created chaos that would be comedic if it weren't so economically devastating. Memes flood social media showing people fainting upon hearing coconut prices, while others joke about storing coconuts in bank lockers alongside jewellery and cash. The humour took a dark turn when dawn raids by coconut thieves became so common that farmers have formed vigilante committees to protect their groves. Coconut is central to Malayali life. Unlike in other Indian states where multiple cooking oils compete, Kerala's culinary identity revolves around the coconut palm. 'Look at a typical Kerala meal,' says Jayapal. 'Rice with sambar, fish curry, vegetable thoran, chicken fry, or even beef roast and parotta — nearly every dish uses coconut meat, coconut milk, or coconut oil.'The local saying 'enth thengayaanu' (what coconut)— an expression of exasperation that literally references coconuts—has never felt more his Ernakulam-based mill, which makes the Keradhara brand coconut oil, Venugopal PP stares at storage tanks that once held thousands of litres. His operation, like that of many local oil producers across Kerala, faces an existential threat. 'We used to get copra—dried coconut meat— for Rs 100-120 per kilo,' he says. 'Now it's Rs 280-300, when we can find it at all.'Venugopal needs 6-7 kg of copra to produce 1 litre of oil. At current prices, the raw material cost alone is Rs 1,620-1,960 per litre, before factoring in processing and labour charges and profit margins. Small wonder that premium, branded coconut oil now retails for Rs 770 per litre at supermarkets, if you can find it.'Only giants like Marico can survive this,' sighs Venugopal, referring to the consumer goods corporation behind the Parachute coconut oil. 'They buy in enormous bulk and maintain huge inventories that can weather crises like this. Many local producers are getting squeezed out of the traditional business.'The ripple effects cascade through Kerala's food ecosystem like a dropped coconut shattering on concrete. A medium-sized restaurant that once used 30 coconuts daily — some establishments use up to 100 — agonises over every kernel. Even small eateries cough up Rs 2,000 more every day, according to Jayapal, while larger establishments bleed Rs 5,000-6,000 crisis couldn't have come at a more brutal time. Already reeling from post-pandemic revenue drops and inflation squeezing customers' wallets, restaurants now face impossible arithmetic. Raise prices and they lose price-sensitive daily wage workers who depend on affordable meals. Keep prices stable and their profit margins will evaporate.'We are trapped,' sighs a restaurant owner in Thiruvananthapuram, who serves Rs 80 biryanis daily to office workers. 'If I increase prices, my customers will just walk 50 metres to the next restaurant. These are daily wage workers and office employees— they can't afford luxury. But I can't keep absorbing these costs either. Some days I wonder if I should just close down.'The desperation has forced creative adaptations. Some restaurants advertise 'limited coconut oil preparation' as a selling point to justify higher prices. Others have switched to cheaper oils for certain dishes, though food safety departments have started warning about the use of adulterated oils. A few establishments charge separately for coconut-based gravies—treating it like a premium add-on rather than a standard Vadakara, Kozhikode, seasoned copra trader Suresh Babu explains the supply-side nightmare from his modest trading office surrounded by empty warehouses. 'Domestic production has crashed,' he says. 'First, Indonesia saw its output decline, so they started buying from us. Then our own production started falling. This year everything converged.'Babu, who has traded copra for over two decades, has never seen anything like the current shortage. 'The good-quality copra we used to get has become impossible to source,' he says. He suspects some traders are exploiting the crisis. 'People are buying coconuts from here and selling them abroad at inflated prices. Some are making extra profit from the shortage.'Kerala's coconut production follows a seasonal rhythm: peak harvest from December to June, followed by high demand from July to December when festivals like Onam drive consumption. This year, when demand has peaked for the festival season, supply has hit rock reports indicate coconut production has dropped by more than 40% this year, with the Coconut Development Board noting a 50% decline over the past decade, with climate change identified as the primary K Surendran, chairman of Kerafed, Kerala's apex coconut cooperative, explains the temperature impact: 'If temperature goes above a certain range when coconuts are forming, it affects yield,' says Surendran, whose organisation handles 14,000 tonnes of Kerala's coconut oil production annually. 'Climate change is slowly affecting every commodity, but coconut got hit first and hardest.'Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu's copra-producing regions near Coimbatore, unprecedented rains ruined quality copra for the first time in six decades. 'Proper copra requires moisture content below 6%, which is impossible when traditional drying areas face unexpected deluges,' says nature only tells part of the story. Decades of farmer neglect created conditions for this crisis. When coconut prices were Rs 20-25 for years, well below the minimum support price of Rs 34, says Surendran, many farmers abandoned proper tree care. Pest control declined, nutrient management stopped, and manjappu (yellowing disease) spread through neglected palms show the cumulative effects of neglect only after five-six years. 'We stopped treating coconut farming seriously,' says Surendran. 'For too long, average prices were too low to justify intensive care. The cumulative effect comes later.'Urbanisation also accelerated the decline. Kerala's coconut-growing area shrank from 10 lakh hectares to 7.5 lakh hectares in two decades, according to the Coconut Development Board. 'Young people prefer five-cent plots for modern homes to maintaining 1-acre ancestral compounds with coconut palms,' Surendran shortage has spawned unexpected consequences. Real estate prices of coconut farms have skyrocketed as investors from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka scout for agricultural land in Kerala. Suddenly, almost-abandoned coconut groves have become investment newspapers report multiple thefts of the suddenly precious fruit. In Palakkad's Elappully panchayat, one of Kerala's largest coconut-farming regions, at least 30 farmers complained of theft in a single month. Thieves strike at dawn, breaking locks and stealing up to 200 coconuts at a time, not just taking harvested coconuts but climbing trees to pluck fresh districts like Kozhikode and Malappuram, farmers have formed vigilante committees against these agricultural pirates, pooling resources for CCTV cameras and coordinated sur- veillance. Farmers around Kuttiady— dubbed the state's coconut capital— have formed action committees monitoring the markets are compounding Kerala's pain. Increased demand from China has reportedly led to significant coconut exports from Tamil Nadu, reducing the supply available for Kerala's domestic processing needs. Virgin coconut oil exports to healthconscious American and European consumers, who have embraced coconut oil as a superfood, compete with domestic produces less than 2% of global coconut oil by volume, according to Surendran, but international demand still affects local supermarket chains, managers stock coconut oil like a luxury good rather than an everyday commodity. Oil companies like Keradhara report sales dropping by 50% as consumers stretch usage by buying 500 ml instead of 1 litre, or switch to alternatives like rice bran oil which, they sigh, rob the food of its traditional crisis exposes Kerala's coconut dependency. The state consumes 3 lakh tonnes of India's annual production of 5.5 lakh tonnes of coconut oil— more than half the national output is devoured by just 3% of the country's crisis extends beyond home kitchens. At Thiruvananthapuram's Pazhavangadi Ganapathy Temple, where thousands of coconuts are offered daily, coconut offerings have reportedly dropped by nearly 30%. Many temples have posted notices announcing fee hikes for coconut-breaking managements struggle to keep lamps burning. Vendors are refusing to supply coconut oil at earlier contract prices, forcing temples to pay premium rates. The timing couldn't be worse — the Karkidaka Pooja at Sabarimala has begun and pilgrims typically carry multiple coconuts as offerings.'This commodity has become more precious than gold,' says Surendran, noting that coconut oil prices rose 110% in six months while gold managed barely 15%.Relief may come by October, when fresh harvest traditionally stabilises supply. The July production has already shown marginal improvement, and industry players expect prices to moderate when Onam festival demand in August subsides and the new crop then, Kerala remains trapped in its coconut conundrum. The bitter irony runs deep for a state whose very name derives from 'kera,' the Malayalam word for coconut. The land that literally means 'the place of coconuts' now finds itself rationing its namesake fruit, watching helplessly as global markets and climate chaos conspire against what once seemed as reliable as the reversal of fortunes isn't lost on people like Surendran as they survey empty storage facilities. 'Farmers are the only ones really happy,' he notes. After decades of selling coconuts for Rs 25 and struggling to make ends meet, they are finally getting Rs 77 per world has indeed turned on its head: Malayalis are struggling to afford parotta and beef roasted in coconut oil even as Americans liberally drizzle it over their salads. What coconut! The writer is a Kerala-based journalist (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of
Time of India
20-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
NGO issues legal notice over construction in reserve forest in Kerala
Kochi: Ernakulam-based NGO Animals and Nature Ethics Community (ANEC) Trust issued a legal notice to the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) demanding the immediate cessation of construction works at the Athirappilly eco-tourism centre , which is in a reserve forest. The NGO said that the ongoing construction is in violation of the wildlife and environmental protection acts. The work is underway without the approval of the Union ministry of environment and forests. The notice stated that the work is not in the approved working plan of the Vazhachal division, under which the centre falls. Still, unauthorised activities continue under the pretext of "tourism repair", amounting to clear violations of national and state laws. The activities currently taking place in this area are not included in any of the prescriptions outlined in the working plan. The forest department has not applied for permission under Forest Conservation Act. The notice raises alarm regarding the impact the "unauthorised" work will have on the forest area. "Construction near the Parambikulam–Sholayar reserve and elephant corridors constitutes a direct threat to wildlife habitats and is a punishable offence," the notice states. Illegal occupation or alteration of forest land is a cognisable offence, it said. It went on to pinpoint each violation in the construction activities in the tourism centre. The notice warned that failure to stop the construction activities, which are in violation of laws, will invite legal actions.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Time of India
NGO files complaint over mysterious wildlife deaths linked to illegal pineapple plantations in state
Kochi: Ernakulam-based NGO ANEC Trust filed a complaint with the chief wildlife warden of Kerala over the mysterious deaths of wild elephants and a herd of Sambar deer in Vazhachal forest area. The incidents have been occurring within Vazhachal, Chalakudy and Malayattoor forest divisions in recent months this year. However, no accountability has been fixed over the mysterious deaths so far. The repeated mysterious deaths of wild elephants and other Schedule I wildlife, such as Sambar deer, in and around unauthorized pineapple plantations on forest leased land raise serious concerns about negligence, illegal activities and systemic failure in the enforcement of wildlife and forest protection laws. The complaint pointed out Kerala govt's failure in allowing pineapple cultivation on forest land. "Plantation Corporation of Kerala currently holds approximately 3,900 hectares of forest land on lease from the forest department, primarily in Vazhachal region, for rubber and oil palm cultivation. However, a substantial portion of this leased land was illegally sub-leased to private entities for large-scale pineapple monoculture in blatant violation of the original lease terms and forest conservation principles," reads the complaint. In Athirappilly forest range under Vazhachal division, four wild elephant carcasses were discovered over the past three months, often near areas under pineapple cultivation, it noted. Mass deaths of Sambar deer were reported in Vettilappara. It also pointed out violations of rules in the area and the unlawful use of electric fencing. The NGO urged the warden to initiate a thorough investigation into the mysterious deaths, revoke pineapple cultivation in the plantations, dismantle electric fences and take action against the officers complicit in the violations in the area.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
ANEC Trust opposes clearance to granite quarries near eco-sensitive zones in Kerala
Kochi: Ernakulam-based NGO Animals and Nature Ethics Community (ANEC) Trust has written a letter to chairperson of the state board for wildlife, chief minister, prime minister and other departments concerned, objecting to the proposed clearance to 22 granite quarry projects in the state. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now According to the NGO, many of these projects fall within the statutory and default 10km radius of eco-sensitive zones around national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests. It pointed out that the move violates various central environmental legislation , legal and other rules. The NGO warned that if the permissions are granted to these quarries, it would gravely endanger the state's biodiversity, climate resilience and protection from disasters. Approving such projects in disregard of environmental statutes, judicial pronouncements and public interest constitutes an abdication of statutory duty, the letter points out.
Time of India
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Environmentalists oppose ‘unlawful' darting of elephant in Wayanad
Kochi: Environmentalists filed a petition with the state chief wildlife warden (CWW) against the unlawful darting of a wild elephant within the elephant corridor on the eastern flanks of Chembra Peak in Wayanad. The CWW ordered the darting to tranquilise a wild elephant in Meppadi following allegations by locals that the elephant trampled an estate worker to death on Thursday night. The petition, signed under 'For Coexistence Collective, Kerala' and the Ernakulam-based NGO ANEC, was sent to the CWW and other forest department authorities in the state and the Centre. It demanded the withdrawal of the move and the protection of the elephant corridor. As the darting operation amounts to violations of various laws, the petition demanded the assurance of ecological sensitive zone-related incentives to farmers, a ban on sound pollution activities that disturb wildlife at night, and the identification of illegal tourism resorts in the area, among other demands. It warned of legal action against the authorities if they failed to stop these violations and halt the darting operation. The petition noted that uncontrolled tourism activities fragment the forest and lead to man-animal conflicts. It highlighted that more than 1,000 legal and illegal tourism resorts operate in Vythiri and Meppadi, disturbing the wildlife. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo Meanwhile, the environmentalists noted that the department has not even identified the elephant which allegedly killed the estate worker Arumugan. The petition demanded that the elephant be continuously tracked, observed, monitored, and a database created to ensure that it has a tendency to attack humans before darting and capturing. The petition said that the govt is violating the existing provisions of the Indian wildlife and environment laws. "A Schedule-1 animal can be captured and removed from its ecosystem only if it is an inevitable situation, and a forest official succumbing to the pressures of locals is such a pathetic situation," it read.
