The Hindu Business Line : Coir Board hopes for more orders at US meet

Kochi, Feb. 16 The Coir Board Chairman, Mr V.S. Vijayaraghavan, has said that India’s participation at the on-going International Erosion Control Association (IECA) conference and its connected exhibition at Reno Nevada, USA, are likely to attract more export orders from the US and IECA member countries.

In a report mailed from the conference venue, he said the growing global awareness on the need to use natural fibre products was bound to find increasing demand for environment-friendly products such as coir geo-textiles for various applications especially in erosion control, storm water management, natural resource protection, ground and roof cover, cycle path and for restoration of vegetation in arid and rocky lands.

Addressing the audience, he said that field trials conducted in India had established the durability of coir geo-textiles in various end uses such as road embankment protection in rural areas. Its low-cost applications also made coir products more popular.

Being held in the context of the International Year of Natural Fibre, the IECA conference assumed importance as India was aiming at increasing her coir geo-textile product exports from the existing 2 per cent to 5-10 per cent of the prevailing 1,400 million sq. metre US market in the coming years, he said.

The IECA is represented by an estimated 3,500 members, including its Indian chapter, who specialise in storm water management and natural resource protection. India’s competitors in this field included Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea and China. The Coir Research Institute Director, Dr U.S. Sarma, accompanying the Chairman at the conference, made a technical presentation on “Coir Based Soil Less Natural Grass Instant Lawn” which later received persistent enquiries from the IECA member delegates and other participants.

Mr Vijayaraghavan would also participate in another four-day CAFLEX-2009 Fair, taking place in Moscow from February 17-20, on his way back. Caflex-2009 is part of the 17th Sokolniki International construction week which offers a highly targeted audience, including international buyers, major furniture and furnishing buying groups, interior designers and decorators, architects and retailers from the CIS region, where India was planning to augment its coir product exports.

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