The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Tender coconut dearer in Tiruchi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tender coconut dearer in Tiruchi

Staff Reporter

Supply is constant, yet the price has risen

TIRUCHI: : Tender coconuts have become dearer in the past couple of weeks. Sellers cite no specific reasons.

Most of the sellers get their supplies from Pollachi and Kerala. Though the supply is constant this year, as in the past, the price has risen by a few rupees. A tender coconut costs anywhere between Rs. 8 and Rs. 17, according to the size.

However, the size does not assure for water quantity or sweetness.

The price of `sevvazhani', usually of a normal size, is on the higher side. What baffles the public is that there is no correlation between the cost of tender coconut and a coconut. At the corresponding period last year, the cost of coconut was higher. But this time round, the cost of a coconut is only half that of a tender coconut. This defies the logic. Despite the hike, normal sales are made through the tender coconut joints, usually in tree shades near bus stands and along busy roadsides. Cost is immaterial to the section of health-conscious public, sellers say. There is no other natural alternative to tender coconuts for keeping urinary tract infections at bay. "It is nutritious besides being medicinal," reasons out a seller near the central bus stand.

There is a committed customer base for the tender coconuts and the sellers are not entirely dependent on roadside buyers. In-patients of the city hospitals comprise a chunk of the buyers. They cannot grumble even if they have to pay through their nose.

For yet another seller, it is the question of making hay when the sun shines. The sun literally shines, and the peak summer period would extend at least for a fortnight.

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