Coimbatore: With successful development of E1 carbon emission coir plywood for European Union market, Coir Board had now developed E0 carbon emission for the US market, Chairman CP Radhakrishnan said today.

The board first developed coir plywood products with E1 carbon emission standard, which were approved by the EU, he said after inaugurating a two-day Coconut Festival here, organised by CII.

Exuding confidence that coir plywood was going to replace any plywood in the near future, Radhakrishnan said the board had developed products with standards of E0 carbon emission and sent samples to the US.

“We are now awaiting the feedback from them and once approved, commercial production for the US market will commence,” he added.

The board was setting up a research centre in Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 18 crore to assist the manufacture of coir plywood with fibre. Of the nine clusters in Tamil Nadu, three – Erode, Salem and Dindigul – were ready to manufacturer coir plywood required by the US market.

The Pollachi cluster, to begin by March end, would focus on manufacturing geotextiles and search was on to find machinery manufacturers for this. A UK-based manufacturer was willing to supply the machinery and carry out a study, he added.

City-based Lakshmi Machine Works and MGR Deemed University had joined hands with Coir Board for developing machines for the industry, he said.Coir product exports, which were to the tune of Rs 1,600 crore when he took over two years ago, had crossed the Rs 3,000-crore mark, Radhakrishnan added.

With many products on the anvil, exports were expected to touch Rs 20,000 crore in eight years.