The five-day 'Coir Kerala-2016', billed as the world's biggest annual trade event on coir and natural fibres, will begin here on February 1.
The sixth edition of the trade event would be inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Minister for Revenue and Coir Adoor Prakash said here today.
Addressing a press conference after the inauguration of the reception committee office for Coir Kerala, he said the coir industry needs to incorporate innovative technologies if it wanted to remain competitive.
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"Youngsters from families who were traditionally involved with the coir sector are reluctant to join this sector," he said, adding that mechanisation was the only way ahead to preserve and protect the state's coir sector.
For this purpose, coir machinery factories have been set up by the state government, he said.
In addition, the state government is making sincere attempts to resolve the issue of wage revision of coir labourers working at different government coir institutions in Alappuzha before Coir Kerala 2016 commences, he said.
Union MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra will inaugurate the international exhibition pavilion.
The exhibition brings together scientists, researchers and policy-makers to discuss strategies and new projects to create jobs, improve conditions of workers, increase productivity and earnings across the industry.
As many as 150 foreign buyers from 60 countries along with domestic buyers are expected to participate in the event.
African and Latin American countries will see especially strong representation.
Thousands of coir workers in and around Alappuzha will also take part.
The international pavilion will have 125 stalls while the national pavilion will feature 130 stalls.
Coir Kerala 2016 will also see the introduction of modern coir products and machinery designed to improve productivity in the sector.
Coir Kerala is believed to be a significant contributor to the annual increase in revenues from coir exports.
In 2014-15, income from coir exports had increased to Rs 1,630 crore - more than double the value from the 2010-11 period of Rs 807 crore.
