Lack of regulated markets affects copra farmers in Ranipet district
The district has regulated markets at Ammoor, Kalavai, Timiri, Arakkonam, Nemili, Arcot, and Kaveripakkam.
RANIPET: Farmers owning coconut groves in Ranipet district are in a bind as the lack of a regulated markets for their produce is forcing them to sell coconuts to private traders for cheap rates, sources alleged.
The district has regulated markets at Ammoor, Kalavai, Timiri, Arakkonam, Nemili, Arcot, and Kaveripakkam. While the Kaveripakkam regulated market is limping along, the Arcot market is closed, while the others see moderate business.
However, the problem is that none of these functioning regulated markets can procure copra due to government orders to this effect. Hence farmers in Kavanur and Pudur villages near Arcot town used to travel to Vellore 30 kilometres away with their produce to offload them at the regulated market near the circuit house.
Sources said that copra can be procured only by the regulated markets at Vellore, Gudiyattam, Vaniyambadi, and Tirupattur due to the bountiful presence of coconut groves in these districts. However, while the copra procurement limit was fixed at 40 tonnes in Vellore it was 10 tonnes each for the Gudiyattam, Vaniyambadi, and Tirupattur markets.
Farmer Ramanathan of Kavanur said that copra could be offloaded only in regulated markets as per government order.
As none of these markets in the Ranipet district could procure copra, he somehow managed to offload 300 kg at Vellore recently with the officials asking him to bring another 150 kg after he had reduced moisture by drying. Talking to DT Next he said, “There are many farmers in our area who cultivate coconuts, but due to the lack of a regulated market they are forced to sell coconuts at cheap rates.”
Asked about the benefits of a regulated market he said, “Copra fetches Rs 65 per kilo in the open market whereas it is Rs 110 per kg when sold through the regulated ones.”
Learning about it, Collector S Valarmathi said, “I will immediately write to agriculture officials in Chennai to solve this imbroglio by either allowing purchase in Ranipet regulated markets or permitting the same in Vellore district to do the needful.”