§1What this business is

Coir pith, the dust left after extracting coir fibre, holds 6–8 times its weight in water. It is screened and pressed in a compacting machine into 5 kg blocks (30 × 30 × 13 cm, 5:1 compression) or 650 g blocks (8:1), shrink-wrapped and sold as a growing medium. Moisture is kept under 20% and EC under 0.5.

Capacity: 6 tons a shift, 175 working days — 1,050 tons a year; 40% yield loss. Sale ₹12,500 and raw pith ₹5,000 a ton.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone near coir fibre units in a coconut district.

Who it is not for

Someone far from pith supply — freight on loose pith is costly.

Advantages

  • Raw material is a waste from fibre units
  • Strong demand from greenhouses and hobby gardeners
  • Big export market for cocopeat
  • Simple process

Drawbacks

  • Works only 175 days — drying needs dry weather
  • 40% of raw pith is lost in screening
  • Export buyers test EC and moisture strictly

Skills you need

  • Pith washing and drying
  • Testing EC and moisture
  • Press operation
  • Export packing

Why difficulty 2/5: Simple pressing process; quality testing and drying weather are the main concerns.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Commercial nurseries and greenhouses
  • Home and hobby gardeners
  • Exporters and overseas growers

How it sells

  • Garden centres and online stores
  • Bulk supply to exporters

Good to know

  • The profile says most greenhouses use this medium for flowers, fruits, vegetables, ornamental and medicinal plants worldwide.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Coir pith compacting machine with electricals (5 kg block), 20 HP1₹13,20,000
Screener, 2 HP (8 ft long)1₹1,20,000
Other accessories1₹1,67,000

From: PMEGP project profile — Coir Pith Block Making Unit (prepared by Coir Board, Ministry of MSME) (2018)

  • Raw coir pith₹5,000 a ton; by-product of fibre extraction
  • Shrink-wrap film and labels650 g blocks are shrink-wrapped for the hobby market

From: PMEGP project profile — Coir Pith Block Making Unit (prepared by Coir Board, Ministry of MSME) (2018)

Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar

Central Coir Research Institute (Coir Board), Alappuzha · Kalavoor →

In our raw material database

Coir fibre and coir pith →

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. Registration with the Coir Board (needed to export; also opens Coir Board schemes)
  4. State Pollution Control Board consent (check the category for your process)
  5. IEC code if you export

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP (this profile was made for it), MUDRA loans up to ₹20 lakh and CGTMSE cover fit; Stand-Up India suits women and SC/ST founders.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Coir Board profile: work shed ₹4.50 lakh + machinery ₹16.07 lakh + working capital ₹4.43 lakh = ₹25.00 lakh.

Working capital: Working capital ₹4.43 lakh (bank ₹4.21 lakh).

Prices from June 2018 — machinery costs will be higher now.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

5305Coconut (coir) and other vegetable textile fibres, raw or processed; tow, noils and waste

Export council / board: Coir Board

  • Coir exporters register with the Coir Board and take its registration-cum-membership certificate.
  • Confirm the exact 8-digit code in the DGFT ITC-HS schedule before you ship.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Rain during drying
  • High EC causing rejections
  • Export price swings
  • Pith supply competition

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working coir pith block making unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Coir Pith Block Making?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP project profile — Coir Pith Block Making Unit (prepared by Coir Board, Ministry of MSME) (2018)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.