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Sarma seeks relook at import of copra and coconut oil

KOCHI: Import of copra and coconut oil should be reconsidered, Minister for Fisheries S. Sarma said here on Sunday.

The Minister was inaugurating a seminar on “Coconut in human nutrition,” organised by the Coconut Development Board on World Coconut Day.

He said it was not blind opposition to imports in a competitive market. “We should import only that much which helps our growth.” There should be a workable master plan for diversification of coconut and its products, he said.

He said coconut was like the bloodstream of the State. Nothing of the coconut palm went as waste. Coconut was one of the indicators of the State’s economy. The price of coconut oil dictated that of the nut, and if it crashed, the State’s economy was affected.

He said a lot of campaign was going on against coconut, with its oil becoming a debating point for nutritionists. If the produce was a health hazard, it beat all logic that generations had survived in this land with coconut being part of their daily diet.

The Government and social organisations had an obligation to stand up against these rumours, Mr. Sarma said.

Earlier, he flagged off a road show. Chairperson of the Board Minnie Mathew welcomed the gathering. D.M. Vasudevan, Principal of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, presided. Varkala B. Ravikumar, Board member, released a newsletter, C oconut Insights, a collection of scientific articles about the nutritional aspects of coconut and its oil. K.K. Haridas, cardiologist, received the first copy.