¨ India ranks first globally in coconut production and third in terms of area under coconut cultivation.
¨ Coconut is an important horticultural crop in India, mainly cultivated in tropical and coastal regions.
¨ Coconut is used not only as a food product but also for producing oil, coconut water, copra, coconut milk, coconut powder, fibre and various industrial products.
¨ The coconut sector is therefore important for agriculture, food processing, rural industries and livelihood generation.
¨ India accounts for 31.24% of global coconut production and 17.90% of the global area under coconut cultivation.
¨ During 2024–25, India produced 20,301.22 million coconuts from an area of 2.19 million hectares.
¨ The average coconut productivity in India during 2024–25 was 9,249 coconuts per hectare.
¨ Kerala has the largest area under coconut cultivation, covering around 7.54 lakh hectares.
¨ Tamil Nadu is the leading state in terms of coconut production.
¨ Andhra Pradesh has the highest coconut productivity, followed by West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
¨ The coconut sector provides livelihoods to around 3 crore people, including approximately 1 crore farmers.
¨ India’s coconut export basket has diversified beyond traditional products to include virgin coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut water, activated carbon, fresh/frozen/grated coconut, copra and desiccated coconut.
¨ In 2025–26, exports of coconut products reached ₹7,038.35 crore (US$794.70 million).
¨ This represented a 62% increase compared with exports worth ₹4,349.03 crore in 2024–25.
¨ Major export markets include the United States, UAE, Sri Lanka, Germany, Russia, Türkiye, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.