Regulations on Fragmentation & Sale of Coconut Estates to be amended

COLOMBO (News 1st): The laws pertaining to the fragmentation and sale of coconut estates will be amended soon, the State Ministry of Coconut, Kitul, Palmyra and Rubber Product Promotion and Allied Industrial Production and Export Diversification said. The area of coconut estates that can be fragmented and sold will be restricted to 2.5 acres in the future, Tissa Hewavitharana, the Secretary to the State Ministry of Coconut, Kitul, Palmyra and Rubber Product Promotion said on Wednesday (Feb. 03). Based on the present regulations, coconut estates that do not exceed 10 acres, could be fragmented and sold. As such, according to Hewavitharana, the fragmentation and sale of large estates have negatively impacted the coconut harvest. The price of coconuts in the country has risen drastically in the recent past, whereas the price ranges between Rs. 120 to Rs. 150 per coconut, reported News 1st correspondents.