AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF AREA, PRODODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF COCONUT CULTIVATION IN INDIA

The commercialization of crop leads the Indian farmers towards more plantation oriented cultivation. Coconut being a plantation crop has a made significant contribution to the export sector of India. About 10 million people in the country are dependent on coconut cultivation, processing and the trade. The growing need for the income out of the coconut cultivation leads the farmers to explore varieties of associated products that can be produced out of coconut. Thus the main objective of the study is to understand the trend in area, production, productivity of coconut cultivation in India .Growth index for each variable is calculated for the analysis. INTRODUCTION Coconut, the Tree of Heaven is a plantation crop which is a major sustenance crop of Indian farmers’ .According to FAO statistics, the contribution of India to the total share of world coconut output is 23.3% and it is the third largest producer of coconut. Indonesia (35.8%) and Philippines (30.0%) stands first and second positions in terms of production of coconut. The growing need of coconut and related products resulted in the production of value added products and it is found that there is potential scope for process called product diversification. By now India has not made much progress in the product diversification, it is in its initial stage when compared to other coconut producing countries. Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh are the major coconut producing states in India. It is seen that there is a decline in the area, production, productivity of coconut cultivation in India and it is a major concern as if it is checked and solved, through the process of product diversification India can conquer the coconut markets in the world