Time to tap the tender coconut business

Panaji: Drinking the highly nutritious water of the tender coconut is a common practice in Goa, but not many have looked at building a wider market for this gift of nature.
"There is vast potential for marketing of tender coconuts in Goa as long as plucking of tender coconuts does not affect the production of matured coconuts," said director, agriculture, Ulhas Pai Kakode.
Adding that the scope for business was better in areas that saw tourist footfall than remote villages. he said,
Approximately 130 million coconuts have been plucked this financial year, but it is difficult to determine how many of these were the tender kind. "There is no statistical figure to show the count of tender coconut production separately from that of regular coconuts," he said.
In 2007-2008 the horticulture department tried to sell tender coconuts at the Goa State Horticulture Corporation Ltd (GHSCL) outlets, but it had to be discontinued due to space constraints in transportation vehicles. Despite this, director of horticulture department, Larry Baretto, said that there is a prospective market for the nut if marketed properly.
Currently, coconut orchard farmers are paid approximately 5-6 per coconut, while for bigger coconuts they are paid 10-12. Tender coconut farmers are paid approximately 10-12 depending on the geographical location of the orchard.