Kerala to address coir fiber shortage with a new yarn bank

In order to revive the struggling coir industry in Kerala, the state government has decided to create a yarn bank to address the severe shortage of coir fiber. P Rajeeve, Industries and Coir Minister says, launched with a budget of Rs 5 crore, the project aims to guarantee a consistent supply of fiber to units throughout the state and protect the livelihoods of over 200,000 workers, approximately 80 per cent of whom are women.

The yarn bank will be jointly managed by the Kerala State Coir Corporation and the Kerala State Co-operative Coir Marketing Federation. It will stockpile coir fiber for a year, allowing both small and large units to access raw materials at reasonable prices. Government sources confirmed, a final decision on the location of the yarn bank is expected to be announced soon. However, it will set up in a region with significant coir activity to maximize its impact, confirm officials,

The announcement comes at a critical time as once a global leader, Kerala's traditional coir industry is suffering from a lack of raw material and rising fiber prices. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry reports, about 9,000 registered coir manufacturing units are locaed in Kerala, with around 80 per cent of them being situated in Alappuzha. The remaining units are in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.