Hyderabad, Sept. 18 -- India's coconut exports rose 62 per cent in a year to Rs 7,038 crore from Rs 4,349 crore, union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday, highlighting the potential of the sector and calling for measures to further benefit farmers in southern states.
Addressing the Regional Agriculture Conference for Southern States here, Chouhan said a new scheme for promotion of coconut, announced in the Budget, is set to become operational and urged southern states, which are the country's leading coconut producers, to prepare to take full advantage of the initiative.
He also called for a strategy to rejuvenate old coconut plantations, noting that coconut trees aged 60-70 years often produce ...