Profitability and Performance of Coir Pith Units in Western Region of Tamil Nadu

Coir pith is a biomass residue generated during the extraction of coir fibre from coconut husk and is a by-product of the coir manufacturing industry. About two kg of coir pith is obtained for every kg of coir fibre extracted. The profitability of coir pith units have been examined using primary data collected from 30 sample coir pith producers. Garrett's ranking technique was used to identify the constraints faced by the coir pith producer. For every rupee of investment in coir pith processing, about Rs 1.13 was obtained as returns, indicating its profitability. The neighbours were the main source of information, ranked first followed by traders and internet. The major problems faced by the coir pith producers were limited electricity and inadequate labour. The study has clearly brought out that the urgency of developing innovative technologies to reduce the labour usage and uninterrupted electricity which lead to maximum production and compete in international markets.