Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
BY
THE CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT AGENT TRAINING PROGRAMME OF UNIDO CDP, NEW DELHI
&
The views expressed in the Diagnostic Studies are those of the authors and should not be attributed to UNIDO or to the institutions they may represent.
CONTENTS
NO. 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 2. About The Coir Industry Historical Perspective Status of Coconut Production Location of Coir Industry Socio-Economic Perspective About the Kollam Cluster 5 TOPIC PAGE 1
3.
ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Making of Coir Fibre Availability and Consumption of Husk and Fibre Scope for Value Addition Marketing
4.
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5.
ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 Inefficient Industrial Associations Cost Reduction Necessary For Increasing Exports Low Productivity Seasonal Nature Of Employment Managing Processing Wastes Mistrust Among Coir Co-Operative Societies Low Wage Rate In Other States Threat Due To Land-Use Regulation Scarcity Of Raw Material Labour Product Pricing Export Market Limited Role Of Financial Institutions Lack Of Associated Behavior Lack Of Professional Quality Management
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6.
ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Coir Project Office Of The State Government Central Coir Research Institute, Alleppey Central Institute Of Coir Technology, Banglore National Coir Training And Design Centre, Alleppey Regional Coir Training And Development Centres At Thanjavur, Arisikere, Rajamundry And Bhubaneswer Coirfed Small Scale Coir Producers Associations State Coir Corporations Of Kerala And Karnataka
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7.
SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE CLUSTER Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats RECOMMENDATIONS PROPOSED ACTION PLAN FOR THE CLUSTER ANNEXURES
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8. 9. 10.
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 ABOUT THE COIR INDUSTRY
The Small Scale Industries have been assigned an important role in Indias development plans. Their development is one of the key strategies adopted by the Government, as they are a chief source of employment and income generation. The Coir Industry alone provides employment to about 5 lacs of people especially women, and earns foreign exchange to the tune of Rs. 300 crores per annum. It is a highly labour intensive industry but the productivity levels in the industry are so low that the average earning of the workers, are insufficient to maintain even a subsistence standard of living. A rise in cost factors in the recent years has impacted the cost of production considerably, without any corresponding increase in productivity. On the demand side, Coir Products appear to be facing tremendous global competition from other hardfibres. Also, price fluctuations seem to have become a perennial feature of the coir-markets. Marketing therefore has become a major problem in recent years and the future prospects of the industry depend on the expansion of domestic as well as the foreign markets. However, the industry in the developing economies is charactrised by insufficient marketing, which has added to its already mounting problems. Firstly, the manufacturers of the original and the major product sector of the coir-household have a very low direct access to the markets. The Traders and Exporters control the entire marketing business due to their higher financial strength and procure goods only on job-work basis. The actual producers find it beyond their own means to hold the products for a long time before marketing it directly. Due to a limited access to market, the traditional yarn and other product manufacturers are always engaged in price-wars and are even found to compromise on quality aspects in order to make their products cheaper. Secondly, the anti-pollution awareness has increased and the enforcements from the Government are a threat to the industry, especially due to the polluting nature of the Retting process. Another major concern is the amount of drudgery involved in the processes of retting and Fibre Extraction. Due to the insufficient technological upgradation, the manufacturers are unable to make these processes less labour intensive and environment friendly. As the interests of each sector in the Coir industry are different, therefore it does not seem feasible to organize them under the same umbrella. The smaller women groups with active intermediaries will have to be identified in order to initiate small yet productive activities. The untapped raw material potential in this cluster can be productively utilized with an active intervention from these groups. The two major NGOs in this cluster with wide network can contribute quite a lot in this respect.
Coir Industry in India has a very long history. Even the 11th Century A.D. Arab writers have mentioned about Coir and referred to the use of this material for ships cables, fenders, rigging etc. During the Thirteenth century, there was an evidence of coir yarn being used for ship-building in the Persian Gulf.
The remarkable international correspondent of ancient times, Marco Polo, was impressed by its usage there and later on visited the land where Arabs bought their coir and recorded as to how it was made out of a fibre extracted from the coconut husk. In fact till the early decades of the last century the industrial development in Kerala was mostly centered around coconuts. Production of coir yarn and fibre quietly spread through the coastal belt of Travancore utilising the abundant and cheap labour that was available. Coir weaving industry was localised in and around Alleppey. Coir industry is one of the traditional industrie s of Kerala. This industry is described to be traditional, not merely in reference to its historical traditions but also in reference to their traditional technology base that continues to be handcrafted.
Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Kerala Orissa Tamil Nadu West Bengal Others All India
Coconuts are utilized both in its tender and mature form. Tender nut is consumed as a thirst quenching natural drink. In West Bengal more than 80% of coconut production is consumed as tender nuts, while in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu it accounts for 25-40% per cent. In Kerala, since coir industry, oil extraction and copra making are widespread, the consumption of tender coconut was not popular till recently. But with the promotional activities organised by various bodies to give a reasonable price to the coconut growers, the consumption of tender coconut has increased significantly. Consumption pattern of Coconut Kerala
(%) Others (%) 78.5 57.3 16.8 4.4 21.5 -All India (%) 61.6 48.7 10.5 2.4 38.4 39.4
Raw nuts
Mature nuts (Including seed nuts) Tender nuts (Desiccated coconut) Copra Oil
Consequent to the agitation by MPs from Kerala at New Delhi, a high level meeting was convened by the Honourable Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G.M.C Balayogi on 5.12.2000 where it was informed that coconut from Sri Lanka were finding its way into the country through Tuticorin and Calcutta ports. At Calcutta, Coconut that was being brought in for transportation t o Nepal was in reality being sold in India, which resulted in lowering of its prices. Low price for the matured coconuts boosts up the usage of tender coconuts, which comparatively fetch a reasonable price in a short period. Thereby, affecting the Coir industry as there is a fall in supply of its raw material i.e. husk of the matured nut.
The outbreak of minor pests that affect coconut in several parts of the country creates panic amongst the coconut growers as well as in the coir industry. These minor pests, to some extend affects quality of husk and fibre produced there from.
OTHER SOCIAL FACTORS Age : 60 & above 40-50 Gender Ratio: Males Females
18% 82% 4
Illiteracy: Literate but below SSLC Literate SSLC or above Note: Illiteracy among both male and female coir workers seems to be comparatively higher in the northern districts of the State.
10% 83% 7%
Kollam, even today is one of the major industrial and commercial centres of Kerala. It is known as the nerve center of Kerala 's Coir and Cashew industry. It has some good infrastructure to offer for the development of coir industry. The development of port at Thankassery will be an added advantage for the industrial development of the place.
2. ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE
Kerala has the highest density of population than any other state of India. Area of Kollam district alone forms 6.41 per cent of the total area of Kerala and accommodates 8.27 per cent of the total population of the state. The whole district looks like a continuous village of independent and separate households with frequent small towns. This makes the issue of Environmental Pollution of water, air and even noise, a really critical one for the area. Apart from the health aspect, it is important to keep the n atural environment clean and beautiful in order to attract tourists also. The land, its fertility with evergreen vegetations and the clean waters of its rivers and lagoons are some of the most precious assets of Kollam and we should take full precautions to keep this beautiful balance of nature alive.
anywhere between six to ten months, depending upon the maturity of coconuts, the season and the salinity of water.
Technological inventions in the field of retting The Central Coir Research Institute (CCRI), Alleppey, the R & D institute of Coir Board has developed a bacterial consortium known as Coirret. The use of Coirret can reduce the retting period to 78 hours. Coir Board has not been able to extend this technology to the industry effectively due to the poor infrastructure and field level staff. Transferring such technology is of great importance for the development of the industry and to reduce the cost of production to meet with Global markets. Natural retting facility Availability of brackish water is not the only condition necessary for retting of husk. Brackish water has to be replenished by fresh water at frequent intervals to wash away the water contaminated in the process of retting of husk. Kerala is naturally endowed with this facility also as many perennial rivers flow into its backwaters. Anjengo area has this facility in abundance. The Anjengo area extends from Mayanad over Kollam to Thiruvallom, South of Thiruvanandapuram for a length of 80 kilometers. The regular flow of fresh water of the rivers into the backwaters in this area, gives the fibre a special cleanliness and luster that cannot be obtained in other areas and thus takes the credit for the fame that Anjengo yarn has earned. The Southern part of Kollam cluster falls under this area.
3.1.2 WASHING After retting the tough husk becomes soft and flabby. It is then taken out of the pits and is washed well to remove the dirt before peeling off the outer skin. It is then placed on a hard block of wood and beaten with a mallet. A few beats of the mallet with frequent shaking makes the fibre free of dirt and pith. 3.1.3 FIBRE EXTRACTION The beaten husk is torn on rolling cylinders with nails on the cylinder casing. The fibre thus extracted is passed through a willowing machine for softening and removal of the last trace of pith on it. The fibre extraction is done in defibreing mills with the help of machines. There are two varieties of Coir fibre namely, the White fibre and the Brown fibre. The White fibre is known to be superior to the Brown fibre and is extracted from the retted husk. For this, the raw husk is soaked (retted) in brackish water for about 6 to 10 months and then the fibre is extracted by beating the retted husk either by hand or by machine. The Brown fibre is extracted from the dry husk generally through a mechanical process. In Southern districts of Kerala, most of the fibre is of the White variety. 3.1.4 SPINNING There are two broad sectors in the coir industry: first is spinning sector, which is essentially a cottage industry spread over a wide area and the second is manufacturing, which is concentrated around certain locations only. Spinning is decentralised over a wide area along the back-waters because as this stage is reached, a good deal of waste material is eliminated and thus it becomes cheaper to transport the fibre to different places.
The second stage of manufacturing with pure materials tends to be concentrated at places having; a good availability of skilled labour, source of power, proximity to markets and facilities for export. The development of Alleppey, the near district of Kollam cluster, as a manufacturing center for coir is the natural consequences of the presence of all these factors in this area. The raw material of the coir spinning industry is the coconut husk, which is bulky and has low value. The coir industry tends to gravitate to the raw material producing area because the proportion of weight of raw-material used to the weight of the final product i.e. the Material index comes out to be quite high. The low value of the product cannot meet the high cost of transportation of the raw material. The retted husk is heavier than the green husk and the cost of their transportation to distant places is not economically viable. As such, the process of transforming them to fibre tends to be located near the soaking pit/retting yard. But during the process of de-fibreing, the retted husk looses most of its weight and it becomes easier to transport it to other places through cheap water transportation. This factor as well as the easy availability of labour throughout the rural sectors of Kerala facilitates in wide dispersing of the spinning process, virtually taking the coir spinning industry to the door of the labourers.
Total Production of coconuts in district Consumption of husk in the coir industry Per cent of the Husk production Average yield of Fibre per Husk Total annual production of Fibre Amount of Fibre brought from outside Total quantity of fibre available in Kollam
: : : : : : :
430 million nuts 150.5 million 35 % 81.65 gms 12,288 tons 12,046 tons 24,334 tons
3.2.2 Availability and Consumption of Fibre The Coir fibre extracted from coconut husk is the raw material used for manufacturing yarn and various other coir products. Fibre is used even for manufacturing of Rubberized Coir goods. The bulk of the Brown fibre is utilized for manufacturing upholstery items, latex based coir goods, yarn etc. A small part of the fibre produced is also sent for direct exports. Out of the 211357 tons of fibre available in Kerala, 180729 tons or 85.5 % is consumed in the local industry itself. The percentage of Consumption of fibre in each sector is given below: Sector Co-operative Sector Household sector Private yarn production Factory sector TOTAL Consumption as Percent of total available fibre 17.10 49.34 15.11 3.95 85.50
Sl_No 1 2 3 4
PARTICULARS Availability of Fibre % of Dispatch in the form of Yarn Dispatch in the form of Coir Products Infrastructure
These figures reveal that the Availability of fibre (both production and arrival) in Alleppey district is 20% more than Kollam district, whereas in the dispatch of Coir Yarn from Kollam is much higher than that from Alleppey. Therefore, the latter concentrates more on sale of value added products than the Kollam producers. Thus there is am ample scope for capacity building both by improving husk consumption and by producing value added products. Value addition would also mean that more workers would be engaged for more number of days. This can be seen from the table below:
3.4 MARKETING
The two types of markets viz. Domestic and Export hold equal importance in case of the Coir Industry and 'Expansion' is necessary in both the cases. The Coir Board has opened up 33 show rooms and sales depots at important cities in India. These showrooms and sales depot are also functioning as agencies for market-feedback. Considerable attentions is being given to publicity of coir products by systematic propaganda, advertisements, exhibitions and also by printing colorful catalogues, brochures etc. Please refer to Annex 1 for the Statistics relating to Sale volumes achieved by these outlets. Other marketing agencies are: State level Co-operative Coir Marketing Federation in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Orissa Some primary Coir Co-operatives and Coir Products Manufacturing Societies that have also setup sales-outlets in important cities. Besides, the Rubberized Coir Manufacturing units usually have their own arrangements for marketing their products.
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RAW HUSK
VILLAGE DEALER LARGE SCALE DEALER RETTING SMALL RETTERS CAPITAL RETTERS HUSK COOPERATIVES OR UNION CO-OPERATIVES
SPINNING FIBRE & YARN VILLAGE MIDDLEMEN LOCAL MERCHANTS BAZAR DEALERS COMMISSION AGENTS FACTORY REPRESENTATIVES COOPER-ATIVES
DOMESTIC MARKET
COIR PRODUCTS
EXPORT MARKET
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12
The employment rate of the Coir Spinners is directly linked to the rate of demand in the product sector. Especially in the case of products that are manufactured against specific export orders, there is a high rate of fluctuation observed and workers do not get assured employment throughout the year. The creation of regular employment can be made possible through the following measures: Modernisation of technology in Spinning and Product sector. Finding new user areas for Coir such as Coir-geo-textile, Pith composting, Polymer Composite Board etc. Capturing the untapped export as well as domestic potential in the markets.
According to Mr. Nelson, President, Kollam Coir Merchants Association and a yarn producer, such networks would be very helpful and should definitely be introduced in both the Private Sector as well as in the Household sector of the yarn producers. Such a network will facilitate the following joint businesses: 1. Joint management of raw material acquisition 2. Joint penetration into the new market 3. Availing the service of specialized technicians and consultants for product diversification by cost sharing basis. 4. Establishment of Common Facility Centers (CFC) for product finishing, Godowns (Warehouses) etc. and Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) that require huge investments.
5.10 LABOUR
Of the three major elements of cost viz. raw material, labour and overheads, the labour cost is incurred at different stages of the production process. In the spinning of yarn, the labour employed is practically unskilled but in the manufacturing sector both skilled and unskilled labour is used. The coir industry is highly labour intensive and the total number of people engaged in the industry is approximately around 5 lacs.
Subcontracting
The large manufacturing units do not consider it prudent to expand productive capacity beyond a certain level, as export markets are generally unpredictable particularly with the growing competition from artificial products. This paved way for subcontracting of labour as this way they could accept and execute orders even in excess of their own capacities without getting worried about permanent overheads. As a result a number of small units were also started at household level.
Trends in wages
The coir industry has been one of the most sweated industries in India and it continues to be so inspite of repeated efforts of the Government to fix minimum wages. The Spinning sector of the industry is by and large a Cottage type, where wages are abnormally low. But in the Manufacturing sector is mostly organised and has a comparatively higher wage-rate. There would be a high degree of correlation between changes in the coir product prices and the wage rate but interestingly the wages have remained at a somewhat static subsistence level, and product prices have been mostly influenced by the change in price of husk or yarn.
According to Shri. Appukuttan Pillai, a coir trader in Kollam, Coir Products have received a beating from 'Synthetics' in the recent period, due to the latter's cheapness, durability and all weather utility. Climatic conditions, high cost of Coir Products and cheap substitutes are certain factors hindering the growth of domestic market in a big way. Even then, the eco-friendly nature of coir and coir products has induced some demand.
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6. SUPPORT INSTITUTIONS
6.1 COIR PROJECT OFFICE OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT
The Coir Project Office of the State Government is under the administrative control of Cooperative Societies that are engaged in Coir related activities in the district. The societies coming under the field of this office are divided into different circles and each circle has a Coir Inspector who looks after the societies under his jurisdiction. In Kollam district there are eight such Coir Circles. An overview of the status of the societies in the district is presented below based on the details available in the performance report 1998-99 prepared by the Coir Project Officer. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. No. of coir societies under control No. of societies reporting no production No. of societies reporting production No. of coir yarn societies No. of Mats & Matting Societies 127 38 89 88 1
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6.5 REGIONAL COIR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRES AT THANJAVUR, ARISIKERE, RAJAMUNDRY AND BHUBANESWER
These four regional Coir Training and Development Centers, Demonstration-cum-extension Centres and Demonstration-cum-production Centres play a pivotal role in skill development amongst the workers in the coir industry.
6.6 COIRFED
COIRFED is an apex body under the control of State Government. The Coir Cooperative Societies sell their products only to this institution. The only complaint from this institution is that their purchase price is very low and sometimes does not even cover the production costs.
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7. SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Not many international competitors since it is a labour intensive industry Easy availability of labour Natural facilities for retting Presence of supporting institutions at Government level Less investment in machinery during the initial stages of production Access to ports Eco friendly products Young and educated new generation
WEAKNESSES
Processes generate pollution esp. Retting Intervention of courts likely in Environment related matters Low levels of modernisation and upgradation of technology More problematic waste Associations are weak Middlemen or agents are powerful and they dictate terms Poor marketing skills Lack of financial resources forcing the households to become job workers Lack of education and short-sightedness of the present generation
OPPORTUNITIES
Growing international and domestic market Untapped raw material potential BIBLIOGRAPHY Product diversification Potential for higher value-addition
THREATS
Competition from synthetic fibre. Stiff competition from other Coir producers like Sri Lanka. Fall in the production of coconut due to pest. 19
8. RECOMMENDATIONS
Since 95% of the work force in the spinning sector and 80% of the total work force are women, constitute Women Coir Swasraya Sangh consisting not more than 20 members. Get a survey conducted to understand the p resence of NGOs and voluntary organisations to initiate leadership in the Coir Swasraya Sangh. Boost up the raw material availability in the cluster so that there is less dependence on other states or distant areas because of which a high transportation cost is incurred. For this purpose, a network of different CSS under the NGOs or voluntary organizations needs to be formed and husk collection activities especially at midland area of the cluster should be organised. Training programmes in marketing to be organised for young and enthusiastic Coir entrepreneurs to enable them to market their own products and build new linkages. The Government agencies that are providing support should be involved in arranging visits to various fairs for the product manufacturers. This shall be especially beneficial to new units who have not been exposed to these types of fairs earlier. To deal with the issue of high cost of raw material procured: o o o Setting up raw material supply facility Explore the raw material potential with in the cluster. Formation of raw material consortiums so that the entrepreneurs can purchase raw material at a reasonable price.
Encourage setting up of a marketing consortium in the form of NGOs with to achieve economies of scale in terms of marketing and raw material sourcing. Initiate measures to reduce the labour intensity of the industry.
ITEM 1 1.1Qr
DESCRIPTION Identify the NGOs, Voluntary Organisations (VOs) and other women organization in the cluster Organise meetings with the functionaries of the above organisations
RESPONSIBILITY CDA with the help of Coir Board, Survey reports and other related institutions CDA with the help of Coir Board
BUDGET
1.2Qr
4 5
Formation of 6 groups named "Coir Swasraya Sangh" with not more than 20 members with active intervention of NGOs, VOs etc. Identify the training needs of the groups in the field of product manufacturing and arrange frequent interactive meetings Arranging raw material for Training. Appx.2 kg yarn @ Rs.22/- per kg for one trainee for 40 days in two months Rs.44x40x120 Arrange the service of weaving experts for each group for two months Rs.3000/- pm x 6 x 2 Borrow the service of one quality expert for all the 6 groups during the period of training as well as production Stipend to the trainees @ Rs.500 pm Rs.500 x 20 x 6 x2 Arranging working capital from SIDBI/SBI under Mutual Credit Guarantee Scheme Establishment of raw material Consortium and CFC for taking godown/warehouse on rental basis. Commencing commercial production of mats. Establish marketing linkages with exporters and coir traders in Kerala as well as of other states. For this, organise training in marketing for young and enthusiastic coir entrepreneurs. Market development programme a. Participate in the trade fairs etc. b. Arrange buyer seller meet. c. Consignment sale through coir board showroom d. Formation of a marketing consortium in which private entrepreneurs and cooperative societies can also join. e. Explore new avenues for marketing through NGOs of the Northern states and through internet.
"
6 7 8 9 10
1.3Qr
Under an ongoing scheme of the Coir Board Coir Board Sponsoring institution with the help of CDA
Rs36,000
Rs.1,20,000
1.4Qr
To be worked out in consultation with the experts in this field. To be worked out
11 12
2.1Qr 2.1Qr
Groups Sponsoring institutions, members of the group with the help of CDA Sponsoring institutions, CSS, Coir Board, CDA The Government agencies that are providing support should be involved in arranging visits to various fairs.
13
14
2.4Qr
Formation of groups under the same pattern and extending training for manufacturers matting, rug, carpet etc.
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ANNEXURE 1
SALES FIGURES OF MARKETING OUTLETS SET UP BY THE COIR BOARD
------------------------------------------------------------------------SL. TARGET SALES % OF ACHIEVEMENT NO. CITY FIXED FOR APR'98 APR 99 APR'98 APRIL 1999 1999-2000 TO MAR'99 TO MAR'2000 TO MAR'99 TO MAR.2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 AHMEDABAD 37.00 21.04 27.44 80.92 74.16 2 ALLAHABAD 27.00 16.14 18.63 134.50 69.00 3 BANGALORE 82.00 70.98 49.56 86.56 60.44 4 BHOPAL 10.00 6.55 10.60 65.50 106.00 5 BOMBAY 80.00 64.15 64.36 80.19 80.45 6 BHUBANESWAR 35.00 16.06 13.85 73.00 39.57 7 CALCUTTA 35.00 25.64 28.93 67.47 82.66 8 CHANDIGARH 40.00 28.09 30.02 65.33 75.05 9 COIMBATORE 10.00 2.34 1.56 23.40 15.60 10 DEHRADUN 43.00 17.64 16.83 103.76 39.14 11 ERNAKULAM 40.00 25.48 39.49 94.37 98.73 12 GANGTOK 10.00 6.34 6.95 63.40 69.50 13 GORAKHPUR 27.00 9.89 21.15 52.05 78.33 14 GUNTUR 35.00 23.83 30.34 79.43 86.69 15 HYDERABAD 80.00 70.79 75.45 76.95 94.31 16 INDORE 33.00 13.37 11.99 49.52 36.33 17 JAIPUR 43.00 30.03 28.75 100.10 66.86 18 JAMMU 60.00 73.02 72.90 143.18 121.50 19 KANPUR 50.00 49.68 51.70 101.39 103.40 20 LUCKNOW 47.00 27.41 35.45 109.64 75.43 21 MADRAS 58.00 44.46 51.27 96.65 88.40 22 MADURAI 39.00 14.03 17.92 93.53 45.95 DELHI 23 NEHRU PLACE 66.00 44.56 54.48 92.83 82.55 24 ASAF ALI ROAD 40.00 36.34 32.78 95.63 81.95 25 PANDAV NAGAR 30.00 16.41 20.12 49.73 67.07 26 PATNA 35.00 34.77 24.13 102.26 68.94 27 RANCHI 20.00 18.40 21.26 153.33 106.30 28 THANE 10.00 2.63 2.82 26.30 28.20
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29 30 31 32 33
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ANNEXURE 2
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7 8. 9. Coir Industry in India by Dr.K.B.Unnithan. Report of the Coconut and Coconut products in India by S.J.Patel, A Govt. of India publication. The Hindu, Survey of Indian Agriculture 2000. The Hindu, Survey on India n Industries 1999. Baseline survey by Tata Economic Consultancy Service, Chennai. Survey of coir industry in Kerala by Kerala Statistical Institute, Pattom. Report of Department of Economics & Statistics. An information guide to Kerala Industria l Scenario 1992. Indian Coir by FAO.
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