Products from Lakshadweep displayed in 2-day event to promote its export potential

Varieties of virgin coconut oil, coir based textiles, tuna fish products and ornamental marine species were just some of the products put on display during a two-day 'Vanijya Utsav' event organised in Lakshadweep to promote its export potential and develop the industries there.

The two day event, held on September 21 and 22, was aimed at showcasing the archipelago of 36 islands as a ''rising export hub'', a release issued by the Directorate of Industries said.

It said that any export policy has to take into account the traditional products from coconut and the sea available in the islands whose coral lagoons are ''an ideal ground for growing seaweed''.

The focus of an export policy should be value addition to the premium material available in the islands which has the status of being 100 per cent organic as per the Agriculture Ministry, the release said.

It pointed out that coconut cultivation and products -- like virgin coconut oil, coir fibre and jaggery -- derived from it contribute around Rs 100 crore to the economy of the Union Territory (UT).

But its economic potential is much more and it can be achieved by establishing cost efficient processing chains, professional management and efficient marketing strategies, it said.

Besides coconut, the other product available in abundance in the islands is fish, especially oceanic tunas, and the two tuna varieties - skipjack and yellow fin - have significant export potential, it said.

It further said that the potential of Lakshadweep's tuna fisheries has not been fully harnessed ''due to lack of forward and backward linkages and also lack of cold chain infrastructures like ice plants, cold storage and other processing facilities''.

''Initial experimentation on marine algae (seaweed) farming has proven that lagoons of Lakshadweep Islands have a very high potential for marine algae (seaweed) farming. It is also estimated that Lakshadweep waters have potential equivalent to that of sea weed production in Indonesia, which is a major seaweed producing nation,'' the release said.

It also said that of the 603 marine species in the islands, 300 can be grown and marketed for ornamental purposes and for the same a separate arrangement would be made in partnership with National Corporative Development Corporation (NCDC).