KOCHI:
Coconut Development Board (CDB) in its 50th meeting of the Project Approval Committee (PAC) on Technology Mission on Coconut (TMOC) held at Kochi under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.N.S. Murthy, Chairman, CDB approved 30 projects with an outlay of Rs. 31.34 Crores and financial assistance of Rs. 6.39 Crores with annual processing capacity of 803 lakh coconuts and 9000MT production of coconut shell charcoal. Out of 30 projects, there were 8 Research projects and 22 projects on Processing of coconuts for value addition.
Under the sub component ‘Processing and Product Diversification’, 3 projects for Desiccated Coconut Powder for processing 255 lakh nuts per year, one Frozen Shredded Coconut for processing 45 lakh nuts per year, 2 Integrated Processing units for Desiccated Coconut Powder and Virgin Coconut Oil for processing 96 lakh nuts per year, 2 Tender Coconut water processing and packing units to process 75 lakh nuts per year, 2 Coconut Oil units with a capacity to process 135 lakh nuts per year, 4 Copra Dryer units with processing capacity of 120 lakh coconuts per year, 5 Ball copra making units with processing capacity of 41 lakh coconuts per year, one unit for making Dietary fiber from coconut flour with a capacity to process 36 lakh coconuts per year and 2 Shell Charcoal units with a capacity to produce 9000 MT Shell Charcoal per year were sanctioned.
In Kerala, one Coconut Oil unit for processing 15,000 coconut per day, one Integrated Coconut Processing unit with a capacity to process 12,000 nuts per day for Desiccated Coconut Powder and Virgin Coconut Oil, 3 Copra dryer units with a capacity to process 30,000 coconuts per day and one Frozen shredded coconut unit to process 15,000 coconuts per day were sanctioned.
In Karnataka, 2 Desiccated Coconut Powder manufacturing units with a capacity to process 45,000 nuts per day, one Integrated Coconut Processing unit with a capacity to process 20,000 nuts per day for Desiccated Coconut Powder and Virgin Coconut Oil, one Bottled Tender Coconut water unit with a capacity to process 15,000 tender nuts per day and one Shell Charcoal unit to produce 20 MT Charcoal per day were sanctioned.
In Tamil Nadu, one Desiccated Coconut Powder making unit with a capacity to process 40,000 nuts per day, one unit for manufacturing of Dietary fiber from coconut flour with a capacity to process 12,000 coconuts per day, one Coconut Oil manufacturing unit with a capacity to process 30,000 coconuts per day and one Shell Charcoal unit to produce 10 MT Charcoal per day were sanctioned.
In Andhra Pradesh, one Milling Copra making unit with a capacity to process 10,000 coconuts per day and 5 Ball Copra making units with a capacity to process 41 lakh coconuts per year were sanctioned.
In Telangana, one Tender Coconut Water preservation and packaging unit with a capacity to process 10,000 coconuts per day was sanctioned.
AT Shibu, Deputy Secretary (Agri.), Govt. of Kerala; Dr. Hebbar KB, Scientist, CPCRI, Kasaragod; PK Hameed Kutty, Deputy Agricultural Marketing Advisor, Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Kochi; Usha K, DGM, NABARD, RO, Thriuvananthapuram; S. Ayyappan, Chief Manager, Indian Overseas Bank, R.O, Kochi; M. Aravindakshan, Former Chairman, CDB; Saradindu Das, Chief Coconut Development Officer, CDB, Kochi; Dr. A.K. Nandi, Secretary, CDB, Kochi; R. Jnanadevan, Deputy Director, CDB, Kochi; Sardar Singh Choyal, Deputy Director, CDB, Kochi and Sreekumar Poduval, Processing Engineer, CDB, Aluva attended the meeting.