Abstract:
There is significant potential to improve the marketing of coconut-based products
in Batticaloa. However, demand currently exceeds the production of coconutbased
products despite many opportunities. Therefore, the present study was
an effort to explore marketing constraints and opportunities related to the coconut
industry in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Simple random sampling was used to
select 50 registered coconut farmers and 50 registered coconut-based producers
for the study. Primary data were collected through pre-structured questionnaires
and field surveys and analyzed with IBM SPSS 25.0 and Microsoft Excel. Descriptive
statistics were applied to assess the data. The results reveal a strong
positive disposition toward the coconut industry among male respondents, due
to the male-dominated farming system in Batticaloa. Surprisingly, no valueadded
products are currently produced among the sample. The most prominent
constraints identified in both local and global markets were, respectively, poor
access to market information (81.4%), high input and other operational costs
(73.6%), price volatility (83.8%), and lack of government and non-government
support (48.4%) for export in Batticaloa. Despite the constraints, considerable
local and global marketing opportunities were available, respectively: income generation
(85.0%), higher local and global demand (84.0%), creation of employment
opportunities (83.4%), earning foreign exchange (81.8%), competitive advantage
(78.6%), and coconut tourism (77.2%) in Batticaloa. Based on the findings, the
study recommends encouraging community engagement in the marketing of the
coconut-based industry and enhancing knowledge regarding value addition of coconut.
The respondents of this study demanded that the government establish
quality upgrading programs, provide appropriate training facilities to implement
suitable marketing strategies, and enhance the use of e-commerce platforms for
the marketing process. Therefore, the present study recommends addressing these
constraints and identifying opportunities to improve the local and global marketing
of coconut-based products in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.
