Guwahati: The Coir Board, with support from the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise, is organizing a four-day expo in Jyotichitraban Kahilipara Guwahati to promote coir and its uses. The event began on March 23rd and will conclude on March 26th. The expo was inaugurated by D Kuppuramu, Chairman of the Coir Board, along with Lakshmanan S, IAS (Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Govt of Assam), and Jitendra Kumar Shukla, Secretary of the Coir Board.

The coir industry provides employment to over 7 lakh workers, predominantly women, across different states in India. Women constitute about 80% of the workforce in this industry, which plays a crucial role in empowering rural women in coastal districts. The Coir Board has supplied geo textiles and geo logs worth Rs. 1.1 crore to the Brahmaputra Board for soil control at Majuli, Assam, during the FY2022-23.

In the year 2020-21, India's export of coir and coir products reached an all-time high record of Rs. 3778.98 crores, an increase of over Rs. 1021 crores from the previous year, indicating a 37% growth in value. The Coir Board aims to achieve coir exports worth Rs. 7000 crores within a couple of years.

Coir products are environmentally friendly and have been certified with the "Eco Mark" by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The Coir Board has initiated product development and diversification activities, leading to the launch of various value-added products, such as coir Gertextiles for preventing soil erosion, Coir Pith converted into a biofertilizer and soil conditioner, and Coir Garden articles, which have gained popularity in India and abroad. The growing demand for environmentally friendly products has further boosted the demand for coir and coir products in domestic as well as foreign markets.

The Coir Board was established under the Coir Industry Act, 1953, by the Government of India, with the objective of promoting the sustainable development of the coir industry in the country.

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