Kerala Minister for Revenue and Coir Adoor Prakash has said that the government is committed to creating more jobs in the coir sector and improving the conditions of the thousands of people employed in the industry.

He pointed out that initiatives such as the annual Coir Kerala international trade event are aimed at meeting these objectives.

Inaugurating the reception committee office of Coir Kerala 2014, the Minister said event, to be held in Alappuzha from February 1 to 5, would help thousands of traditional workers in the coir sector by creating employment, boosting exports and bringing new technologies into the industry.

Coir Kerala 2014 will get Central assistance to the tune of Rs 1.75 crore. The Centre has already earmarked a similar assistance for the next edition of Coir Kerala, he said.

According to the Minister, the government has been able to scale up coir exports besides making considerable progress in the domestic market. In 2012-13, the export of coir products was around Rs 1,152 crore, up from Rs 1,052 crore the previous year.

The figures for 2013-14 are yet to be finalised but the State government is confident that it will be better than that of the previous year, he added.

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