North America has market for coconut water

Dear Editor,

I applaud the efforts of those seeking to market Guyana’s coconut water overseas, according to your news story (Guyana Times, Dec 21). Coconut water has been consumed for centuries. We use it as a popular beverage in Guyana to quench thirst or in mixing drinks. But, in North America, coconut water is rapidly becoming a booming business, with packages and cans of coconut water being sold not only in ethnic stores, but also in all mainstream grocery stores. It is also sold in major cities in ethnic stores in Holland and England. 

Americans, Canadians and Europeans are taking a liking to the beverage, and it is being marketed as a health drink. They find it quite tasty, and many are familiar with the product because they sampled fresh coconut water when on vacation in the Caribbean or other tropical destinations where coconut palms grow in abundance. And even without American consumers, Caribbean nationals settled in North America will lap-up the product. The liquid has a very refreshing flavour; and in some places people add various spices, cinnamon, and in Guyana “steel drops’. It is drunk chilled or at room temperature, and Caribbean people use it to mix their hard drinks (especially Scotch and rum) to produce a lovely taste. In North America, the canned water is sweetened, losing its natural taste; yet there is great demand for it. People prefer the product in its natural form, and it is now being largely sold in packages. There is room for huge profits once a method can be found to keep it “fresh” during shipping and in storage in the stores. 

Aside from the taste, coconut water is good for the body, according to health experts, who describe it as an immune-boosting drink. The nutrients in coconut water include potassium, magnesium, calcium, vitamin c, other minerals and antioxidants, amino acids and enzymes, etc. Nutritionists say it has iron, calcium and fibre, which is good for the body, and that it has very little fat and no cholesterol. Some people market coconut water as an energy-rich beverage which can be consumed to restore the balance of electrolytes in hot weather or during heavy exercise. 

Newspaper articles tout coconut water as a health drink. The print media in Trinidad recently ran features on the nutritional value of coconut water. People in every society go for the “water”, so there is a market for it; and producers in Guyana should rush to get it to North America. In fact, in Trinidad, it is already being packaged and sold in restaurants and bars. But North America awaits its entrance, and I can assure producers that, once the price is competitive to those being sold from Asia, coconut water will sell well in New York and Toronto.

Yours truly,

Vishnu Bisram