Kerala - Kochi   

Privatise coir marketing: Jairam Ramesh

Photo: Vipinchandran

Golden fibre: Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh (left) with Coir Board Chairman A.C. Jose and Minister for Coir G. Sudhakaran at the inauguration of India International Coir Fair-2007 in Kochi on Friday. —

kochi: Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said here on Friday that coir marketing should be privatised totally and that the Coir Board should curtail its role to that of being a facilitator for the coir industry.

The Union Minister was inaugurating the India International Coir Fair-2007 here on Friday. He said franchisees should be appointed to market coir products and the coir industry should now turn away from being subsidy-driven to being technology and marketing-driven.

Partnering with private companies would help in the marketing of coir products better, as the industry focussed on the domestic market in tandem with its drive to boost exports, the Minister added.

Mr. Ramesh called for modernisation of the coir industry. Coir products look beautiful but they are made through processes that are medieval, the Minister said.

The Minister said a Rs.240-crore modernisation programme for the coir industry was on the anvil. The Union government will provide Rs.100 crore, and banks and financial institutions, Rs. 130 crore. A sum of Rs. 10 crore will be raised from the beneficiaries.

G. Sudhakaran, Minister for Coir, Cooperation and Devaswoms, was the special guest at the inaugural. He said that State government would support the coir industry with substantial assistance and new programmes.

A.C. Jose, chairman of Coir Board, delivered the keynote address at the inaugural function, attended by a large number of Indian and foreign delegates, including business delegates to the seventh Commonwealth-India Small Business Development Programme.

Mr. Jose said the coir industry provided employment to more than half-a-million people, 85 per cent of them women.

Christy Fernandez, Secretary to the President of India and former chairman of Coir Board, addressed the gathering at the inaugural function.

Gollappally Surya Rao, Minister for Small Industries, Government of Andhra Pradesh; K. Chandran Pillai, MP and Member of Coir Board; E. Ponnuswamy, MP and member of Coir Board; D.C. Srikantappa, MP and member of Coir Board; K.V. Thomas, MLA; Chandrapal, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, Government of India; and Hari Shankar Shukla, vice-chairman of the Coir Board were among those who spoke at the inauguration.

Over 100 buyers from 40 countries, including the U.S., the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Brazil, are attending the five-day India International Coir Fair-2007. Leading buying houses in India too are participating in the five-day Fair.

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