Maldives Hit By A Coconut Crisis

A coconut crisis has hit Maldives last Saturday following start of this year's Ramadan. Prices are soaring like never before in country's history. A small size coconut that was available to purchase for MVR5 (USD 0.32) before Ramadan has now gone up to MVR35 (USD 2.30), that's 7 folds. From curries to desserts coconut is a basic ingredient in Maldivian cuisine. Many consumers visiting Male' local market have become upset of the rising coconut prices. Some are blaming government while others point fingers at businessmen.



Recently the Ministry Of Fisheries And Agriculture announced that they have started permitting local parties to source coconuts from uninhabited islands that are under the ministry. Some coconut dealers say palm trees in many of the uninhabited islands have become too old, they are too high and bears little fruit. They suggest planting a new batch of palm trees across the country.

Mature coconut, locally called Kaashi, is the one used in cooking.

Some blame low supply on young coconut businessmen. They say too many people are drinking water of young coconut and dealers are supplying it to the market, leaving few to get aged on the tree. Kaashi collectors usually collect when it falls from the tree, sometimes people also climb and cut down the bunch. Coconuts fall down soon after becoming matured, but it usually happens one by one or few at a time. Climbing up and cutting down the whole bunch means you get many coconuts without having to walk to every tree collecting one from each. Coconut trees in their healthy age could deliver 10 - 20 coconuts in each cutting.

Another group of people blame it on the tourism. They say, in some atolls, too many islands are leased to develop resorts. They claim some atolls do not have any easily accessible island for locals to harvest coconut.

Resorts are usually self sufficient on coconuts, so they don't have this problem.



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