Prema, AThasnimol, FKAU2020-12-162020-12-162019174737https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810156741PhDCoconut is a crop of economic importance in many Asian and Pacific countries. India is the largest producer of coconut in the world contributing 23798.23 million nuts from an area of 2.09 million ha (CDB, 2018). The economic reforms of the 1990s and the subsequent trade liberalization policies have brought challenges and prospects to Indian agriculture including the coconut industry. In this context, the present study was undertaken with the objectives to trace and assess the impact of trade policies in edible oil on coconut economy of Kerala, to analyse the price transmission in the markets, to estimate the efficiency of selected coconut markets and finally to suggest appropriate policy measures for improving the performance of coconut trade. Both primary and secondary data were used for examining the specific objectives of the study. The primary data were collected using well-structured and pretested schedules through a survey of 90 farmers, 45 market intermediaries and 15 exporters in the selected districts of Kerala. Secondary data was mainly collected from authentic sources like CDB, EXIM data bank, DGCI&S, DGFT and FAO statistics. Though trade liberalization adversely affected the coconut farmers during the initial phase of liberalization, it subsequently increased the opportunities of the Indian coconut sector to compete in the world market. The export growth rate of coconut products has increased during the study period (1980-81 to 2016-17) while instability index, a measure of export stability was found to have decreased. The high growth rates of coconut products together with low instability indices in the export revealed the prospects for Indian coconut sector in the global market. Hence stream lining the production through Good Agricultural Practices to fulfill the export market requirements with regard to quality and safety would boost the trade. The comparative advantage in coconut trade analysed using the Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) indicated that coconut oil and desiccated coconut did not possess any comparative advantage in global trade, while coconut (fresh and dried) and copra have comparative advantage. It was obvious from the result that rather than focusing on the export of coconut oil and desiccated coconut, India must give much effort to increase our export share of coconut, copra and other value-added coconut products to augment the foreign earnings. The trade policies concerning edible oils at the national level were found to have an impact on the coconut oil prices in Kerala too. Exponential growth rates were computed to compare the growth of edible oil imports and coconut oil prices in Kerala. The significant improvement in the growth rates of edible oil import and decline in the growth rates of coconut oil price confirmed that trade liberalisation and further Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) facilitated the huge import of edible oil from other countries which unfavorably affected the domestic coconut economy. The result of the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) unveiled that coconut oil production in Kerala was competitive at the given level of technologies, prices of inputs and outputs and current policy stipulations. However, social profitability, a measure of efficiency or comparative advantage was observed to be negative. The result depicted that coconut oil production in Kerala lacks comparative advantage in production and the state was not able to use the available resources efficiently. The efficiency of selected coconut markets studied using Shepherd’s index indicated that the presence of more number of marketing intermediaries and high marketing cost and margin have reduced the producer’s share in consumer’s rupee. Besides, high wage rates, shortage of skilled labour, lack of processing technologies, adverse climatic conditions, etc., obstruct the farmers in performing even the primary level processing and thereby it reduces the producer’s share in consumer’s rupee. The cointegration analysis using Johansen Cointegration method revealed that the liberalisation policies and further free trade agreements have resulted in the transmission of price signals between domestic and international edible oil markets and it led to the integration of these markets during the post-liberalisation period. The result of Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) also depicted that changes in the international prices of edible oils would cause changes in price in the domestic coconut oil market in the long-run. High wage rate, labour shortage and incidence of pest and diseases were the major production constraints faced by the farmers. Inclusion of agricultural operations also under MGNREGA has been suggested by farmers as an option for bringing down the cost of cultivation. Shortage of skilled labours can be lessened through the adoption of programmes like Friends of Coconut Tree (FoCT). The problems related to pest and disease attacks can be addressed by developing resistant and hybrid varieties and better plant protection measures. Price fluctuation, high transportation cost, inadequate storage and processing facilities were the major marketing constraints faced by the farmers. Long-term policies for the price stabilization of coconut and other coconut products are inevitable to reduce the price fluctuation. The government should continue the procurement operation through Krishi Bhavans as it is found to be beneficial for the farmers. Shortage of raw nuts, lack of exclusive market for coconut and high domestic price were the major constraints reported by the domestic traders and upcountry traders. The recent surge in the domestic price could be attributed mainly to the short supply coupled with high domestic and industrial demand. Shortage of raw nut due to lower production, productivity and pests and diseases needs to be addressed seriously. In the era of trade liberalisation and FTAs, the interests of farmers also need to be safeguarded while concentrating on trade opportunities. Given the present trade scenario, the coconut sector in Kerala needs strong support from the government to revive and retrieve its premier role performed in the past.EnglishThesis