Representative Image / Photo: KK Santhosh
Vadakara: National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) has been stumbling to sell-off the copra procured under Minimum Support Price scheme from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Though the attempt to sell 40,855 tonnes of copra commenced a month ago, NAFED has only sold 530 tonnes of it so far. Notably, the sales happened at a price lower than the market price.
At a time when the market price of the copra hit Rs 9000 per quintal, NAFED was quoted for prices ranging from Rs 8000 to Rs 8,500 per quintal.
Only 30 tonnes of copra has been sold in Kerala at a rate of Rs 8455 per quintal, while 500 tonnes of copra was sold in Tamil Nadu at the same rate.
Later NAFED decided not to sell copra at a cost lower than the market price in order. The objective was to avoid price slump, but it did not receive considerable quotes thereafter.
Interestingly, the coconut oil mill plants has renounced the copra procured by NAFED. Because, they prefer copra from Tamil Nadu , which costs only Rs 8300 to Rs 8400 per quintal.
The copra has been in the NAFED's storage space for six months. The delay in sales may cause a fall in quantity and quality of copra. The traders are likely to lower the price in view of this, which may lead to a fall in the market price of the copra too.
The Union Ministry for Agriculture had directed NAFED to sell the procured copra within six months.
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