ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s coconut auction was conducted at a fixed price of 140,000 rupees for a thousand nuts, for the second week on January 30, after the average price 145,687 on January 09, official data show.
Last week buyers and sellers agreed to cap the price at 140,000 rupees, an official at Coconut Development Authority, which conducts the auction said.
However volumes offered fell to 172,462 from 239,829 nuts and sold volumes fell to 114,800, from 238,624.
It is not clear whether only small nuts are coming to the auction now with the price cap.
Volumes sold collapsed further to 82,257 nuts on January 30.
Coconut farmers would prefer to sell at the open market, with the price cap in the auction, analysts say.
Sri Lanka’s coconut prices started to go up steeply in the last quarter.
Auction price were around 90 rupees a nut up to August and started to go up rapidly in subsequent weeks.
A total of 82,257 coconuts were offered at the auction and all the nuts were sold; this was the lowest number of nuts sold at the auction.
Coconut prices rose to an all time high in the January 9 auction, when the average price for 1,000 nuts was 145,687.
The auction was not held on January 16 due to the lack of nuts, officials said.
Sri Lanka coconut prices which were around 60,000 rupees for 100 nuts in 2021 did not go up steeply in 2022 when the rupee collapsed. Fresh coconuts are not directly exported, but products are exported.
Coconut production in the country has declined in 2024 leading to higher demand.
Sri Lanka coconut production is 250 million nuts behind the projected coconut production for the first half of 2025.
Industry officials say importing raw materials is essential to lower the possibility of losing export markets to other countries.
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Coconuts are retailing at 205 to 220 rupees a nut at supermarkets around the island.
Wholesale prices for large nuts were 180-190 and 150-170 rupees for small nuts on January 23 according to CDA data.
Coconut oil local wholesale price was 840,000 to 880,000.00 rupees per metric ton.
Coconut shells were 47,000 to 49,000 rupees per metric ton. (Colombo/Jan31/2025)
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