The coconut palm syrup or jaggery can be crystallized to produce fine granules of sugar. Transition of coconut jaggery into a ground granule sweetener is more accepted by global markets. The recovery of palm sugar from coconut palm jaggery is 15%. The application of this sugar is tremendous and offers huge potential owing to its most important health attributes, the low Glycemic index and the high nutrient content. It can be the most suited alternative sweetner, especially when agave sugar is being rejected owing to the high fructose content. This alternative sugar industry is estimated to be a $1.3 billion industry and hence the market prospects are enormous. It is understood that in producing countries like Indonesia, around 50,000 MT of coconut sugar is produced per month and 6 lakh MT produced per year. The product has good local market in Indonesia.
Nutritional composition of coconut palm sugar (in 100g)
| Component | Qty in mg |
| Moisture | 0.06% |
| Protein | 432 mg |
| Minerals | 5.24 mg |
| Carbohydrate | 11.0 mg |
| Calcium | 18.9 mg |
| Phosphorous | 1.9 mg |
| Iron | 5.2 mg |
Economics of production of Neera* and value added products from Neera
| Assumptions | |
| Number of palms per hectare | 175 |
| Total number of palms tapped in a hectare | limited to 80 |
| Number of inflorescence tapped per tree per annum | 3 |
| Average productivity per ha in Kerala | 7365 nuts/year |
| Approximate cost of one litre of Neera | Rs.50 |
| Conversion ratio from Neera to jaggery | 6:1 |
| Approximate cost of one kg of coconut palm jaggery | Rs.250 |
*Commercialization of Neera is possible only after amendment of Abkari Act.
Estimated returns from Neera
| Item | Yield of Neera | ||
| Yield of Neera in Litres | @1 litre/ tree/day | @2 litre/ tree/day | @3 litre/ tree/day |
| Yield of Neera from 80 palm tapped for 3 months | 7200 litres | 14400 litres | 21600 litres |
| Returns from Neera @ Rs.50 per litre | 3.6 lakhs | 7.2 lakhs | 10.8 lakhs |
| Returns per palm | Rs.4500 | Rs.9000 | Rs.13500 |
| Returns to farmer in the proportion of 75% of production | 2.7 lakhs | 5.4 lakhs | 8.1 lakhs |
| Returns to tapper in the proportion of 25% of production | 0.9 lakhs | 1.8 lakhs | 2.7 lakhs |
Estimated returns from coconut palm jaggery
| Item | Production of Neera at | ||
| @1 litre/ tree/day | @2 litre/ tree/day | @3 litre/ tree/day | |
| Yield of jaggery in kg | 1200kg | 2400kg | 3600kg |
| Returns from jaggery @ Rs.250 per kg | 3.0 lakhs | 6.0 lakhs | 9.0 lakhs |
Tapping of 25% of inflorescences (3 inflorescence) in a palm for production of Neera will yield additional income to the farmer and to the tapper, without much reduction in yield. The Coconut farmer communities in the Federations of CPS can work out a viable proportion of production of Neera and jaggery so that the products can cater to defined segments of the society. Neera being a sweet and nutritious health drink can be promoted among all sections of the society. Coconut palm jaggery owing to their low Glycemic Index can be positioned as a safe and healthy alternative sweetener. If we convert jaggery further to coconut palm sugar, value addition is still better.
