Fibre extracted from the outer layer of the coconut is known as coir fibre. It is used to manufacture various artistic and other useful products. Sri Lankan coconut coir and coir-based product manufacturers have been known well for centuries.

The production of coir and associated products have flourished in the Southern coastal belt and in the districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam.

Coir products are exported and used to make carpets, doormats, and decorative items. Coir products can be found in every village marketplace since they are effective, inexpensive, and highly utilitarian.

 

Meanwhile, Galle district has long been one of the country’s principal coir producing and processing areas with around 20-30 coir mills ranging from large exporting firms to household producing and processing coir. Some have fully mechanized, but many units at the cottage and household levels still operate with traditional producing methods or immediate technologies at best.

 

 

Manufacturers of Sri Lankan coconut coir and products made from coir have been a cottage industry in Sri Lanka for generations. The “drum system,” a special method for extracting fiber that results in long, pure fiber primarily useful for the brush industry. There are two primary types: brown fiber and white fiber, which account for 80% and 20%, respectively, of the global coir fiber demand.

The global market is now served by a variety of industrial, home, and agricultural products made from coconut coir.