KERAFED

Kerala Kerakarshaka Sahakarana Federation, Ltd.
കേരാഫെഡ്

Type	Private company
Industry	Coconut Products
Founded	1987
Headquarters	Thiruvanathapuram, India
Key people	Ashok Kumar Thekkan (Managing Director)
Products	Coconut Oil, Pinnaack (Coconut Mash), Desiccated Coconut
Revenue	1.92 billion (US$30 million) (2009-2010)
Net income	54.3 million (US$860,000) (2009-2010)
Number of employees	around 250
Website	www.kerafed.com

KERAFED (Malayalam: കേരാഫെഡ്) is the top-level co-operative federation of coconut farmers in the southern Indian state of Kerala. KERAFED is also a producer and marketer of products based on coconut. It is the largest producer of coconut oil in India.

KERAFED procures its raw materials directly from coconut farmers and uses the newest technologies in production.

History

KERAFED was constituted by the Government of Kerala in 1987 with the bonafide object of procuring the produce of coconut farmers to regulate marketing operations to retrieve the segment of price crunch they were confronting. A production unit relating to the sector was brought into operation in 1991 to crush and market copra procured from the farmers at remunerative price to relieve the section of price crunch and to cater the edible oil requirement of the society by maintaining high quality standards.

Current operations

During the financial year 2009-2010, KERAFED procured 24,500 metric tonnes of copra for its operations.

KERAFED has two expeller oil extraction facilities — one at Karunagappally, Kollam and the other at Naduvannur, Kozhikode — and caters to about 500,000 consumers in Kerala through 14,000 retail outlets.

The oil complex in Karunagappally houses state-of-the-art equipment for extraction. It is the largest coconut oil mill in the sub-continent with an installed capacity of 20 tonnes per day^[1] (TPD) (7504 TPA, 2009–2010). The facility at Naduvannur provides a production of 7.5 TPD (2693 TPA, 2009–2010), to sum up the total production to about 10,000 metric tonnes during the year 2009-2010. During this period, the facilities used 15,887 metric tonnes of copra and generated 5111 metric tonnes of "pinnack" by-product. KERAFED is planning to set up its third factory and refinery for solvent extraction at Ernakulam, though the details are yet to be finalized.

Products

"KERA" brand of coconut oil conforms to the grade specifications laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards vide IS:542-1968. Certificate of Authorisation to grade "KERA" coconut oil under AGMARK has also been obtained.

Kera is available in HDPE bottles of 100 ml, 200 ml and 500 ml; PET bottles of 1000 ml; and polythene pouches of 500 ml and 1000 ml. The raw materials used for these packages are of virgin/food grade, approved by CFTRI, Mysore and other government-approved agencies. Secondary packing is done using 3/5 ply-corrugated cartons, as per specifications.

KERAFED is planning to diversify its product repertoire by including such products as desiccated coconut, coconut milk, coconut powder, and coconut cream. Also in the plan is a timber manufacturing unit, to produce building materials, particle boards, flooring articles, etc.

There are plans to develop herbal oil products from coconut, as the federation has recently introduced 'Kerajam Kesamrith' herbal oil in Kerala.

Export operations

KERAFED has gained a good momentum in its export operations which commenced around early 2006. During the first year, exports to the United Arab Emirates totaled about Re 10 million.

References