The retail price of coconuts has gone up, causing consumer complaints in Unguja Island in Zanzibar. The product is now selling between Sh1,500 – 2,000 (€0.66-0.88) in the Unguja commodity market depending on size and retail location. The archipelago’s Minister for Agriculture Shamata Shaame Khamis blames the rise in the price coconut to a decrease in local production with furniture makers now using coconut trees. Khamis said the speed of re-growing coconut trees to compensate on lost ones has been overtaken by carpentry demand for such wood.
Carpenter Mohammed Daudi said the coconut tree furniture is considered exclusive. He added that furniture made from coconut trees has become popular among hoteliers who look for ways of attracting international tourists who have developed a taste for such pieces of furniture like beds and chairs among others due to their complexion.
Results of a tree census conducted between 2013 and 2014 in the archipelago estimated that only 3.4 million coconut trees were available, as compared to 5.7 million in the late 1900s.
Source: thecitizen.co.tz
