Economy
The state is deficient in minerals and fossil fuels but the sands provide monazite, ilmenite and rutile, principal ore of thorium. With over 40 rivers flowing into the seas from the high ranges the state has great hydroelectric potential. Idukki has so far been the only hydel complex that has been built to generate electricity.
With excellent road and rail connections, a developing banking system and high rate of literacy, the result of an excellent educational pattern, there is no reason why Kerala should not have better economic development than now.
Agriculture continues to be the mainstay of the state's economy with half the cultivated area under commercial plantings. Since these are mostly exported, this has created a paradoxical situation in which food for local consumption has to be imported!
The main cash crops that yield the foreign exchange are areca nut, cardamom, cashew nut, coffee, pepper, ginger and, of course, rubber and tea. The forests yield valuable timber like rose wood, teak and ebony as well raw material such as bamboo, charcoal, gum and resin. In the timber and tea auctions at Cochin there is a sizeable foreign presence. The state ranks first in fish production.
Since Kerala lags in industrialization and there is high level of education, this has created a vast army of the unemployed. Though there are the low-wage cottage industries like processing of coconut fibre or cashew processing, and nearly one-fourth of the workers are in the service sector, this had not solved the problem. Though the state produces fertilizers and chemicals, aluminum and plywood, electrical goods and ceramics, food processing remains the major industrial employer.
With developed road and rail systems Kerala is well connected with the neighboring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. There are three major ports at Cochin, Calicut and Alleppey that handles coastal and foreign traffic. The former also has a major shipyard and oil refining facilities and is the headquarters of the Coast Guard and the Naval Command. There is the unique inland waterways that stretches for 1,100 miles and serves as the artery for carrying freight from the ports to the wayside towns.
While Trivandrum has an international airport those at Cochin and Calicut handle domestic flights.
With excellent road and rail connections, a developing banking system and high rate of literacy, the result of an excellent educational pattern, there is no reason why Kerala should not have better economic development than now. Agriculture continues to be the mainstay of the state's economy with half the cultivated area under commercial plantings. Since these are mostly exported, this has created a paradoxical situation in which food for local consumption has to be imported!
The main cash crops that yield the foreign exchange are areca nut, cardamom, cashew nut, coffee, pepper, ginger and, of course, rubber and tea. The forests yield valuable timber like rose wood, teak and ebony as well raw material such as bamboo, charcoal, gum and resin. In the timber and tea auctions at Cochin there is a sizeable foreign presence. The state ranks first in fish production.
Since Kerala lags in industrialization and there is high level of education, this has created a vast army of the unemployed. Though there are the low-wage cottage industries like processing of coconut fibre or cashew processing, and nearly one-fourth of the workers are in the service sector, this had not solved the problem. Though the state produces fertilizers and chemicals, aluminum and plywood, electrical goods and ceramics, food processing remains the major industrial employer.With developed road and rail systems Kerala is well connected with the neighboring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. There are three major ports at Cochin, Calicut and Alleppey that handles coastal and foreign traffic. The former also has a major shipyard and oil refining facilities and is the headquarters of the Coast Guard and the Naval Command. There is the unique inland waterways that stretches for 1,100 miles and serves as the artery for carrying freight from the ports to the wayside towns.
While Trivandrum has an international airport those at Cochin and Calicut handle domestic flights.
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