the conflict and damage from whiteflies weigh heavily

The country, one of the world’s five largest producers, is now suffering a 40% drop in harvest, due in part to the fertilizer ban and the spread of the pest. Long queues in Colombo and the suburbs to shop. Hard blow for the economy as exports to the US, Germany and the Netherlands have already been affected by rising shipping costs due to turmoil in the Red Sea.

Colombo () – Colombo and its suburbs are experiencing long queues to buy coconuts. The reason is the drop of approximately 40% in production in Sri Lanka. Last week, the capital’s coconut auction confirmed that volumes had fallen sharply, mainly due to the fertilizer ban, whitefly damage and increased exports. Coconut production, which was previously around 600,000-800,000 coconuts, has now dropped to around 400,000.

Sri Lanka is one of the top five coconut producing countries in the world, in competition with other large Asian producers such as the Philippines, Indonesia and India. The country’s strategic position in the world market is reinforced by the quality of its products and the variety of its range. Despite the current challenges, the island nation’s coconut industry maintains a competitive advantage in terms of the quality and innovation of its products.

In addition to the production of coconut products for domestic use, Sri Lanka is a major player in the global coconut industry and the world’s fourth largest exporter of coconut products. It is, therefore, a crucial sector of the country’s economy, providing employment and contributing significantly to export earnings. The industry produces a wide range of products such as coconut oil, coconut milk, dried coconut and value-added products such as coconut water and activated charcoal.

The United States was Sri Lanka’s largest coconut export market in 2023, with an export value of $132.68 million. Germany was the second largest market, with an export value of $49.67 million, followed by the Netherlands, with an export value of $48.1 million.

Hasitha Almeida and Thushari Galappatti, academics, told that “Sri Lanka’s coconut exports are classified into almond-based products, finished fiber products and shell-based products. In 2023, almond products represented 51.6% of the total value of exports, generating 365.94 million dollars. Fiber products contributed 28.2% of the total export value, that is, 199.8 million dollars, while shell products represented 20.2% of the total export value, contributing 142.95 million dollars.”

«Ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East have disrupted trade routes and economic stability in these regions, causing logistical problems, increased shipping costs and general uncertainty in trade, which has contributed to the decline in coconut exports from Sri Lanka,” they explained. »The cost of a container to Europe has increased from $500 to $3,000 since the start of instability in the Red Sea. “Due to severe economic turmoil, including the debt crisis in emerging markets such as Egypt and Pakistan, their ability to import goods has decreased, negatively impacting Sri Lanka’s export figures.”

According to researchers at the Sri Lanka Coconut Research Institute, “after recording two bumper harvests in 2021 and 2022, the coconut yield in 2023 was 10% lower and the harvest fell below 3 billion coconuts in 2023. after two consecutive years in which it had exceeded 3,350 million. The reduced harvest has limited the supply of coconuts available for export, directly affecting the volume of produce Sri Lanka can ship to international markets.

According to senior officials of the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka, in the country “one third of the total coconut production goes to industries that manufacture products for export and two thirds to local consumption.” However, these levels have changed in the face of the recent drop in production, “as more than a third of total production goes to exporters and less than two thirds is made available to Sri Lankan consumers.” As a result, the price of a coconut has increased and they cannot be purchased in many parts of the island.