Oman plans to set up major coconut plantation

The plantation is integrated with a value-adding manufacturing facility that will kickstart the growth of a coconut-based processing industry in the sultanate, added the Oman Daily Observer report.

The so-called ‘Model Farm for Coconut Trees and Product Manufacturing’ is proposed to come up on 1,150 acres of land allocated to the Ministry in Ayn Razat in Salalah.

Plans drawn up by the Ministry envisage the cultivation of 50,000 trees in the first phase, followed by a similar number in the second phase.

Besides being the single largest coconut farm in the sultanate, the plantation will also add to Salalah’s verdant appeal and tourist potential, it said.

In conjunction with the development of the coconut farm, the Ministry is also proposing the establishment of a manufacturing complex that will process the fruit to manufacture a wide array of products for domestic consumption as well as overseas export.

It includes fresh coconuts, packaged coconut water, coconut milk, coconut oil, juices, grated and desiccated coconut products, and a wide range of coconut-based sweets. The Ministry also sees the potential for investments in a slew of products processed from the tree branches, fronds and trunk, notably organic fertiliser, added the report.