Celebrating the goodness of coconut

Coconuts are not really nuts, they are drupes. Drupes are fleshy fruits with a central stone that houses the seed. Generally, young coconuts are used as fruits while mature coconuts are used as seeds. 

The oldest coconut fossils were reportedly found up to 55 million years ago in Australia and India. 

Coconuts are a valuable resource. They provide us with water, food, construction material, and even sustainable materials and energy! The coconut can literally be stripped apart and each component, from husk and fibre to natural extracts can be made into something useful. 

According to experts, India stands first in production and productivity of coconut in the world and third in the area of cultivation. Andhra Pradesh, where coconut is cultivated in an area of 1.025 lakh hectares with an annual production of 1,678 million nuts, stands first in productivity and the scope for expansion is immense.

September 2 has been declared World Coconut Day by the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) headquartered at Jakarta, Indonesia, to coincide with APCC’s foundation day.