India's National Multi-Commodity Exchange Wednesday launched coconut futures trading in the southern coastal state of Kerala as part of an effort to help farmers get better prices, a report said.
The move comes as demand for coconuts world-wide is growing, but farmers in India earn a minimum support price that lags production costs, Kailash Gupta, managing director of the exchange, told the Press Trust of India in Kerala.
"Copra (coconut) futures have received an encouraging response from the market," he said.
Both the buyer and seller would benefit through futures trading as they would be able to decide prices online from various centres, Gupta told the news agency.
According to India's Coconut Development Board, the country accounts for 22.3 percent of the worlds production with 13 billion nuts.