By Wim Roosen, Dutch Plantin.
Being the largest exporter of coir products in India, Dutch Plantin puts much effort in sourcing the right raw materials before processing in our own factories. Controlling the entire chain from husks until crops makes us aware of the importance of reliable quality. Every year we want growers to supply with the same quality.
Most of the cocopeat products are sold to Europe, Korea and Japan. The US, Australia and China are fast increasing now. The estimated total volume will go up to around 300,000 tonnes this year.
Often we get the question “Is the availability of Cocopeat unlimited?”
This is a topical question which we also recall from the peat industry. Dutch Plantin can confidently confirm that there will be enough raw materials available for the cocopeat products which are used in the horticultural sector.We have conducted a study into the availability of coco which shows there are an estimated 9,600,000 ha of coconut plantations in the world. If we presume that each hectare has 150 palm trees, which yield 75 coconuts each per year, then we will have enough raw materials for nearly 6.5 million tonnes of Cocopeat each year.
With a consumption of “only” 0.3 million tonnes we use around 5% of the potential.
However, the availability of enough raw materials doesn’t necessarily mean that there is enough coco available for professional horticulture. Because of the strict requirements our products need to meet, not just any production process will do.
That is why we have twelve production sites, spread over Asia, Africa and the Netherlands, where great care is taken to produce coco products that can safely be used.
Our challenge to nature
In coir business, the ultimate challenge to match demand to supply is all about planning production and logistics. This is not that easy as it is affected heavily by monsoons in India and Ivory coast. Winter in Holland is always unpredictable, like last year we actually had no Winter ….
A monsoon
How does Dutch Plantin deals with this?
Despite the monsoons in India and Ivory Coast not always being ‘on schedule’, we have to deal with this and meet the agreed delivery periods.
It is all about having volumes of coir in stock at the right times:
- of course our raw materials first need to be at a certain age to perform well in stability
- dry and loose coir pith and chips put in large barns
- compressed 5 kg blocks in India and Ivory coast
- compressed 5 kg blocks in The Netherlands
- treated and washed loose coir in The Netherlands, ready to supply
This way Dutch Plantin is prepared as best as possible for the new season.
Manufacturing stable coir products is our USP
From India we sell worldwide. From our Dutch factories we supply the whole year round coir pith to potting soil industries in Holland, Belgium, the UK and Germany.Dutch Plantin has no other products to take care of. All our attention is focused on manufacturing chemically and physically stable coir, the whole year round, to maximize yields for the growers.
Stable in lowest EC, stable in pH and stable during growing, either used as pure coir (e.g. in growbags) or used as additives in substrates and potting soil mixtures.
See also : www.dutchplantin.com/en/company/dutch-plantin-coco-makes-the-difference
For more information:
Wim Roosen
Dutch Plantin Coir India Pvt Ltd
Tel: +31 610 569 218
Email: wim.roosen@dutchplantin.com
www.dutchplantin.com