Dubai/Abu Dhabi: A voluntary restriction by Sri Lanka on exports of coconuts has led to an acute shortage in the UAE market.
This has led to rationing of coconuts by supermarkets and hypermarkets in the UAE with prices expected to go up in the next two weeks.
"The restrictions temporarily put in place to cater to the country's domestic need.
"The price of coconuts in Sri Lanka has gone up. The crop produce is once in two months. December and January are off peak seasons whereas May is the peak season for the crop," said Wasanta Senanayake, Sri Lankan Consul General.
The bulk of UAE coconut imports comes from India and Sri Lanka.
Tender coconuts are imported from Oman. Demand for coconuts from Sri Lanka is more because it is cheaper than those from Kerala, India.
Owing to the shortage, small groceries have raised prices of coconuts.
Alternate arrangements
A coconut from Sri Lanka, which previously cost Dh1.50 to Dh1.75, now costs Dh5. Coconuts are generously used in cooking by expatriates from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.
A couple of expatriates yesterday told Gulf News they have ordered relatives or friends currently holidaying in India to bring a dozen of coconuts from their hometowns.
"The prices for coconuts from Kerala have also been hiked. Before the shortage it was sold at Dh2.50, now we sell it for Dh5," said a grocer in Sharjah.
Another grocer in Dubai said most of his customers are from southern India and he is having a tough time rationing coconuts.
"They should understand that there is a shortage and we have to make alternate arrangements to meet the shortage," he said.
A source from the EMKE Group, which runs a chain of 47 Lulu supermarkets and hypermarkets in the UAE, said an estimated 70,000 coconuts are sold per day through its outlets.
"We used to get four to five containers of coconuts per week from Sri Lanka. Each container holds 37,000 coconuts but now with the restrictions imposed by the Lankan government we are depending on the produce from Kerala," said the source.
He said a close watch is kept on grocers who pose as customers and try to buy coconuts in bulk. "To avoid this, we are rationing the sale of coconuts," he said.
Nandini Dananayeke, a Sri Lankan expatriate who has just returned from Colombo, said she had to pay excess baggage for a dozen coconuts.
