HYDERABAD: Small, rectangular carts manned by vendors selling tender coconuts have become a common sight. Be it outside malls, near bus stops, adjacent to residential colonies or even outside tea stalls and refreshment centres, the ubiquitous coconut has become the preferred cool drink for denizens. “Its healthy, fresh and the best way to beat the scorching sun,” said Siddhartha, MBA student who sips on tender coconut regularly. According to him, the low cost and high refreshment value of coconut water is second to none.These open air drink stalls do business of well over 200 coconuts a day, be it small or big ones, with prices ranging from `6-`12. “The coconuts come in large numbers from Rajahmundry, East Godavari, Vizag and other coastal districts and we sell close to 150-200 coconuts everyday,” said Krishnan, a vendor near Lumbini Park. The coconuts are sold at a margin of minimum `2, which means on an average a vendor makes around `300- `400 per day. With virtually no initial investment and no operating overheads, it should translate into a monthly income of about `10,000. But beneath all these figures lies a not-so-rosy picture. “A few years ago, these very coconuts used to fetch a margin of `4. But with middleman exploitation, the margin has reduced, giving vendors a raw deal,” said Swaroop Chandan, owner of Fruitzy Concept Foods, a company which has set up coconut vending machines at numerous IT parks. “We too manage to sell around 150- 200 coconuts a day, though the number is definitely higher during summer. But even we are facing problems of raising prices since everyone wants everything at the same cost. It is definitely affecting our operational viability,” he added. Kutikrishna, deputy director, Coconut Development Board said, “The farmers and coconut vendors get very little profit.” He said the board might look into welfare of street vendors in the near future. But the main issue is that even leftover coconut shells do not fetch money. “The factories that collect used coconut shells, complain that tender coconut fibres are only three inches thick as against the eight inch thickness in mature shells, making it impractical for coconut-based value added products,” said Kutikrishna. Most street vendors end up paying `1,000- `1,500 per month to ensure shells are disposed off, without getting anything in return. “Small scale fibre processing units have been set up to process these thin fibres, which are used to make idols during festivals or false ceiling applications. But vendors do not get any monetary returns as owners of such factories claim that payment for the raw material will lead to closure of such factories,” said Swaroop Chandan.
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