Sri Lanka’s coconut harvest will be low until the end of February 2025 and coconut prices will remain high, says Dr. N.S. Arachchige, Director of the Coconut Research Institute.
Dr. Arachchige also said that the Coconut Research Institute had predicted the coconut harvest to be received until the end of April.
“Growers in Sri Lanka usually harvest coconuts once every two months. According to our calculations, Sri Lankans consume about 300 million coconuts annually. The harvest during the January/February harvest period will be about 370 million nuts,” she said.
Arachchige said that the harvest will increase in March and April and the Coconut Research Institute expects about 480 million nuts during those two months.
“According to that ratio, the demand is lower than it is now. Then the price will come down,” predicted the Coconut Research Institute Director.
Meanwhile, Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB) Chairman Saman Devage says that the government has about 20,000 acres of coconut plantations and they are currently working to supply coconuts to the urban market from the harvest from those plantations.