After the rubber sector, it is the coir production which is getting hit by the chikungunya spread in Kerala.

The disease was prevalent in the coastal belt of Alappuzha and Kollam districts of Kerala, which are the major coir producing areas in the state.

These areas were badly hit by the disease resulting in labourers abstaining from work, which in turn resulted in a fall in production.

An estimated 50 per cent of the workers have not reported for work, especially in the coir twisting sector, and as a result, supply of coir yarn to the manufacturing units has been affected during the last two months.

Coir yarn is provided by suppliers located in the hamlets in the coastal stretch in Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.

The supply has shrunk by 50 per cent and coir companies are managing with the inventory they were holding with the hope that the situation would improve in the coming days.

Following this, coir yarn prices have gone up between 7 per cent and 19 per cent in the last month. Coir rope prices have increased to Rs 1,800 a quintal from Rs 1,670 a month ago.

However, exporters say the development has not affected their production and delivery schedules so far as they had bought fibre and coir yarn from other sources in the state and outside.