Import has been liberalized and vegetable oils will be imported in large quantities. So there is a sharp fall in the price of coconut oil saw leading players in the field levelling charges and counter charges on either side. The Cochin Oil Merchants Association (COMA) had criticised the Coconut Development Board for giving undue importance to the problem of mite disease,which has led to fear of crop loss and hoarding of copra initially. But later, as the crop was found good, the copra was released to the market which affected the price as reported by market officials.. According to chief coconut development officer import of edible oils is the main reason for the fall in coconut oil prices. There are no short-term solutions for the price fall in coconut oil ., he says. There is a need of a long-term strategy to save the coconut plantation sector from its present problems.

There is a large quantity of palm oil coming into the market. It is directly replacing coconut oil in the main markets like Kerala. The price of palm oil fell to US $ 325 in April this year from US $510 per tonne in April last year. There is 27.5 % duty on vegetable oil imports. Still, between November’00 and April this year 1.87 m tonnes of palm oil was imported into the country. In the current year, the estimate is that 5 m tonnes may come into the market.

Market Update
(Oil Seeds)