<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Business &#38; Money &#187; Krista Mahr &#124; TIME.com</title>
	<atom:link href="http://business.time.com/author/kristamahr/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://business.time.com</link>
	<description>The latest news and commentary on the economy, the markets, and business</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 19:54:51 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.com/</generator>
<cloud domain='business.time.com' port='80' path='/?rsscloud=notify' registerProcedure='' protocol='http-post' />
<image>
		<url>http://1.gravatar.com/blavatar/d8fe9c72e6ddb8decc694e4fdd84f015?s=96&#038;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png</url>
		<title>Business &#38; Money &#187; Krista Mahr &#124; TIME.com</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com</link>
	</image>
	<atom:link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="http://business.time.com/osd.xml" title="Business &#38; Money" />
	<atom:link rel='hub' href='http://business.time.com/?pushpress=hub'/>
		<item>
		<title>Why the Coconut Craze Isn&#8217;t Helping Farmers</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2012/12/05/why-the-coconut-craze-isnt-helping-farmers/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2012/12/05/why-the-coconut-craze-isnt-helping-farmers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Dec 2012 04:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Krista Mahr</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Companies & Industries]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=63344</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[K.W. Janath Bandaranaika knows a good deal when he sees one. The 49-year-old coconut grower owns some 20 acres of plantation in Sri Lanka’s Coconut Triangle, where the ubiquitous coconut tree is used for everything from cooking dinner to cow feed to building homes. The fact that the fruit Bandaranaika has been taking care of all his life is now being pressed into jars of certified organic, fair trade virgin coconut oil and sold to wealthy Americans doesn’t make much of an impression. But, he says with a shrug, “If it can be sold at a higher price in the United States, it’s good for Sri Lanka.” It certainly could be. As demand for all-things-coconut grows in the U.S., coconut-producing countries from Sri Lanka to Brazil are scrambling to supply foreign firms on the hunt for more fruit. In the Philippines, the world’s second largest coconut producer after Indonesia, the government estimates that coconut water exports in the first quarter of 2012 were up 300% over last year as demand in the U.S., Europe and China grew. Coconut oil exports across Asia have also grown 3.3% annually over the past five years, according to the Asian Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), a Jakarta-based industry group. What’s less clear is how — or if — this boom will benefit the men and women at the heart of this global business. For generations, coconut growers like Bandaranaika have been selling to the coconut industry, which traditionally produces whole coconuts, shredded and dried coconut, and copra, the dried meat that is used for oil. It&#8217;s never been a particularly lucrative living, due in no small part to the fact that many coconut growers across Asia sell to middlemen, who then resell the coconuts to factories for as much as 50% more. (MORE: The Best Way to Cut Government Spending: Get Really Tough on Fraud) Rights groups watching the coconut craze worry that as coconut water and coconut-oil products fetch higher and higher prices in western markets, farmers won’t get their fair share of the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=63344&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://business.time.com/2012/12/05/why-the-coconut-craze-isnt-helping-farmers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Agriculture</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/companies-industries/agriculture-companies-industries/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timebusinessblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/biz-coconut-1205.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timebusinessblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/biz-coconut-1205.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timebusinessblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/biz-coconut-1205.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">image: A worker carries a toddy pot after collecting the sap from a coconut palm tree in Wadduwa, Sri Lanka, June 11, 2012.</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/24522d03b567b6a07e8bd5b61331a18d?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2F2.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D96&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Krista Mahr</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
