The fourth edition of the India International Coir Fair (IICF-2016) began at Coimbatore, today where as many as 95 individual exhibitors from across the country are displaying products ranging from the traditional floor covering material to coir wood, Coir Board chairman, C P Radhakrishnan said.

As part of IICF, the All India coir road show named Coir Kranti Express will be flagged off from Coimbatore on July 18. The Coir Kranti Express will display the entire range of coir products and will pass through all states in 120 days, touching Jammu and north eastern states and concluding in Kochi.

The coir board will also be setting up theme pavilions to showcase the recent developments in coir sector. Live demonstrations on technology, production processes and applications will be part of IICF. An important activity of the event will be the reverse buyer-seller meet. So far, 55 serious buyers from 24 countries have confirmed their participation for negotiation with Indian exporters and establishing trade linkages, Radhakrishnan said.

The major participants are from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, with 54 and 24 members respectively. Other states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra and Gujarat will also be a part of this event.

The two-day fair will also have a lifetime award presentation to entrepreneurs and representatives of the trade who are above 70 years. In addition to this, 100 senior most coir workers who have toiled hard for more than 30 to 35 years will be honoured.

Among the products on display at the fair will be improvised floor covering material, coir pith and its value-added products, coir garden articles, coir handicraft items, coir geo-textile and coir wood.