Demand for Coconut skyrockets ahead of Holi

VADODARA: It is a common ritual to offer coconuts while worshipping a burning Holi. But few would know that one-fourth of the total coconuts sold in the market at Vadodara are used for this purpose.
Wholesale traders dealing in coconuts are busy these days taking large orders from retailers in and around Vadodara and then ensuring that the suppliers from the southern states provide these to them in time.As many as 15 truckloads of coconuts are used for offerings during Holi prayers. For the remaining part of the year, 45 truckloads of coconuts are supplied.
"A truckload of coconuts weighs around 16 tonnes and contains approximately 17,000 coconuts," said a wholesale dealer Haresh Navlani, whose family has been in the business for 25 years now. This would imply that over 2.5 lakh coconuts are offered during the festival in and around Vadodara.
Navlani said a coconut presently costs between Rs 13 and Rs 15 in the city. But the rates are expected to go up by Rs 2. "This happens every year ahead of the festivities and then the increased rates are maintained throughout the year," Navlani said, adding that the price rise in coconuts takes place only during Holi and rarely otherwise.
Another coconut trader Ashok Jaysinghani said coconuts cannot be stored for a long time and hence an efficient supply chain has to be maintained. "We have to ensure that stocks do not pile up and at the same time cannot run out of coconuts as these are consistently in demand. As soon as a truck arrives it is unloaded and traders are already waiting to take away the stocks," he said.
A bulk of the coconuts sold in the city come from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In all there are seven major wholesale traders in the city, who sell coconuts in bulk. Ahead of Holi, these suppliers work till late hours to ensure the unloading and supply of coconuts go on smoothly.