18 companies registered for coconut product imports

By Huzefa Aliasger
The budgetary allocation of Rs. 500 million for the development of coconut cultivation is to be used to purchase 2.5 million plants which will span across 40,000 acres of land, an official from the Coconut Development Authority said.
Chairman of the Coconut Development Authority Shantha Ranathunga told the Daily Mirror that plans to boost this year’s Yala harvest are underway with the allocation of the budget to coconut cultivation. Imports of coconut-related products are also underway after the cabinet decision to approve imports of coconut-related products on February 5 was made. “18 companies have registered for imports from Indonesia and nine of them have been approved. Shipments are expected to arrive in one months’ time,” Shantha said. 
The companies have to first submit a request to the Coconut Development Authority, then later reviewed by the Coconut Research Institute and approved by the Plant Quarantine Board to be able to import coconut products into the country.According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), coconut production experienced a significant decline of 33.1% in December 2024 and 32.3% in January 2025, as reported in its Agriculture Data Bulletin for February 2025.