Enhancing Quality Standards As A Strategy For Global Marketing Of Coconut Products
The paper emphasizes the importance of enhancing quality standards for coconut products as international marketing takes place within the framework of the global trading environment. It outlines the criteria for good standards and the need for concerted effort in achieving the required standards. Coconut products like most agricultural products show a diversity in quality. Consumers of coconut products too have heterogeneous demand for different qualities. As such, the range of quality agricultural products need to be sorted out into more homogeneous lots of grades, for easier movement of these goods through marketing channels and reach consumers according to their requirement. This led to the evolution of quality standards and standardization of agricultural products. Quality Standards for coconut products followed a similar pattern of evolution, with common practice to identify or classify a consignment of copra, fibre or shell charcoal by such quality gradings as "FAQ" (standing for Fair, Average Quality) or to use nomenclatures such as "reasonably dry" to spell out a quality standard. Specific standards have been laid down for most major coconut products, to facilitate the industry and trade. The paper highlighted some of the products, for which very elaborate standards have been laid down and stated that these standards have to be adhered to. if coconut products are to compete successfully, in rapidly expanding global markets.