Sales turn sour for Neera coconut water in Tamil Nadu

When Neera, a natural drink tapped from coconut trees was introduced in Coimbatore, it was touted as a healthy alternative to the aerated drinks produced by multinational companies and was expected to positively impact coconut farming. However, less than a year after its launch in February last year, its profitability and yield have both dwindled due to various factors.

This is evident from the drastic dip in production of Neera, which is drawn from spadix, the conical cluster of flowers that sprout into coconuts from trees.

With reduced demand, one of the firms licensed to tap Neera at Udumalpet, Tirupur stopped production and another–Coconut Producers Company Ltd–has merged with Vinayaga Coconut Producers Company Ltd in Pollachi, Coimbatore, unable to withstand the loss.

Currently, the existing Neera producing companies, Anaimalai Coconut Producers Company Ltd and Vinayaga Coconut Producers Company Ltd, claim to be struggling for survival as they have also scaled down production to less than one-fourth their initial capacity. Even supply to IT corridors–perceived to be a potential market for Neera in Chennai–has come down to a negligible quantity.

“The supply has already been stopped at IT corridors in Taramani, Sholinganallur and Madras Export Processing Zone in Tambaram, while a meagre five to six litres is sold in Ascendas on a daily basis. From about 150 litres, the sale of Neera in Chennai has dipped to around 55 litres,” said Dhanabal Muthusamy, Director of Anaimalai Coconut Producers Company Ltd.  

Anaimalai Coconut Producers Company Ltd started making 400 litres with a plan to increase production to 2000 litres. But, after all these months, the production has reached only a mere 55 litres.

The fate is similar for Vinayaga Coconut Producers Company Ltd, which started production with a target to reach 5000 litres but the firm has reached only 300 litres so far. “Even this has been possible only because of the support from hundreds of members of the Farmer’s Association. For any family function, the farmers are asked to serve Neera and not opt for any other soft drinks,” said K Padmanaban, chairman, Vinayaga Coconut ProducersCompany Ltd.

Coimbatore, the coconut capital of Tamil Nadu, has lush green coconut farms spread over in an area of 86,800 hectares and Neera production was expected to revolutionise the farm sector in this agrarian belt.

The farmer’s production firms cited the lack of support from the government as the reason behind the failure of Neera in the commercial market. “There was no subsidy or marketing support from the government. We have invested a huge sum in its production as the cold chain link has to be maintained for the highly perishable commodity. As farmers, we have our own limitations in reaching out to the public,” added Padmanaban.  

Ironically, the production of Neera is driving the growth of economies in Indonesia and Philippines, but has turned out to be a failure in Tamil Nadu.

The State government promised to provide requisite technology to tap, preserve and market the product when the Government Order (GO) was passed on December 12 last year to tap Neera in Tamil Nadu, the farmers claimed. 

“Till now nothing has been done. Since it is a highly perishable commodity, Neera has a maximum shelf life of three days, when preserved at 5 degree Celsius. It takes a day to tap using freezer flasks and another day for transportation to shops. Taking these factors into account, Neera just has one day to be sold and that’s too short a time frame. Quality will be at stake if preservatives are added to increase its shelf life. Unless the government supports us with technology to increase shelf life by storing Neera in tetra packs and provides better cold storage facilities, continuing with its production may not be feasible,” said Dhanabal.

The high cost of production, rapidly increasing labour charges and the white fly menace in coconut trees is also contributing to the losses faced by Neera tapping firms. “The yield is only 25 per cent, a meagre number when compared to the 75 per cent earlier-due to the whitefly menace. Rejection from shops–around ten per cent–and wastage during transportation is also causing loses,” said a farmer.  

When contacted, MR Palanisamy, Deputy Director of Agriculture (Agri-Business), Coimbatore said, “Being a new product, Neera production will only pick up slowly in the market. We have plans to use Neera in government functions to boost its sales. Now, a few companies have even come forward to produce Neera on an even larger scale. The National Horticultural Mission is ready to give a special grant of 35 per cent subsidy, which would help the product reach Tamil Nadu on a broader range,” he said.

Against the claims of Neera producing firms, the official said that production in Coimbatore is around 1,200 litres per day and added that its sale will be augmented at the end of this winter.