THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Finance Department has inked a deal with Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Federation Limited for the marketing of coir products produced locally in the state. Coir minister Dr Thomas Isaac said that the deal would ensure that coir workers would get a minimum of 200 days employment a year. The state's coir products will now be sold through the 10,000-odd outlets of UPCF. To start with, the state will pass on coir products worth Rs 1 crore to UPCF.
According to the finance minister the deal would facilitate the introduction of mechanisation and the entry of private sector in the coir sector. “To make sure that there will be no job losses as a consequence, the state government has guaranteed employment of at least 200 days a year,” Isaac said. Jobs could now be assured as the state, by way of the deal, has secured a large demand for coir products in the country. “We are selling the products to UPCF at the procurement price, and we will also meet the marketing charges,” the finance minister said in the presence of UPCF chairman Karnasingh Chauhan IAS.
The handloom coir products procured by the Coir Corporation will be taken at the state's cost to UPCF's regional godowns in UP. “It is for the first time that the state’s coir sector is getting a huge market at virtually nil establishment costs,” Isaac said. Isaac said that any loss suffered by UPCF would also be borne by the state government. “This is the biggest ever marketing deal for coir products,” the finance minister said. “It is also the first such bilateral cooperation among states,” he added.
