Question

The largest units of the coir industry are located in _____.
A) Kerala
B) Andhra Pradesh
C) Gujarat
D) Haryana

Answer 1

Hint:
i) This state is located on the southwest Malabar Coast.
ii) It was formed on 1st of November in 1956.
iii) It shares its borders with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Complete answer:
Kerala has the largest units of the coir industry. It is also said that the finest quality of coir is produced in Kerala. As the world is trying to shift into eco-friendlier products, there has been an increased demand for coir and coir products of Kerala. It is one of the strongest threads fabricated in the world and is also called the ‘golden fiber of Kerala’.

Coir is made from coconut fibers which are extracted from the coconut husk. It is used for making mats, brushes, ropes, fishing nets etc. It is a fibrous material found between the internal shell and the outer coat of the coconut. There are two types of coir. One is the brown coir, which is harvested from ripe coconuts and the other is white coir, which is obtained from unripe coconut.

Kerala is an ideal location for the production of coir due to the abundance of coconut in the region. Coir has been in use in Kerala since many centuries. It was only in the mid 19th century that the first official factory was set up in Alappuzha in Kerala. The factory was set up by an Irishman named James Darragh. The coir industry is the second largest sector of employment in Kerala, after agriculture. The coir industry in Kerala provides employment to around 4 lakh persons. 84% of the total people working in this industry are women.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note:
i) The Coir Board of India is a government organization established under the Act 1953.
ii) Its purpose was to promote and develop the coir industry in India
iii) It is operated from Kochi and Alappuzha, the head office being in Kochi and the research and training office being at Alappuzha and Bangalore.