Kozhikode, Aug. 1 :    Kozhikode, Aug. 1:  Coconuts have never come this cheap, but the plummeting prices have sent Kerala's economy into a tailspin, forcing planters to stage unusual protests. In the worst slump in 10 years last week, prices of coconut oil crashed from Rs 5,875 per quintal in October 1999 to Rs 2,975. Similarly, copra prices which stood at Rs 3,780 per quintal, dropped by over 50 per cent to Rs 1,850. Coconut oil cake also suffered a similar fall, from Rs 900 to Rs 500 a quintal. As the state government traded charges with Central agencies, coconut growers took the fight in their own hands to draw attention to the problems dogging Kerala's totem tree. Last week, a group of farmers jumped into the Arabian Sea with coconut fruits chained to their necks. Another group, led by a Kerala Congress faction, boarded state transport buses and tried to exchange a nut for a ticket worth a rupee or two. The conductors, most of whom grow coconuts in their backyards, responded by cancelling bus services. The slump in prices has acutely hit the hill areas of Malabar. Trading in towns such as Thiruvambadi has come to a complete halt, said Sebastian Joseph, secretary, Malanadu Agricultural Marketing Society, a major dealer in copra in north Kerala. The government blames the Central procuring agency, National Cooperative Agricultural Marketing Federation (Nafed), for the drop in prices. Pinning the blame on liberalisation policies, agriculture minister Krishnan Kaniyanparambil alleged that Nafed's decision to stop buying copra was a conspiracy hatched by the Centre. The Central agency, however, argued that it had procured nearly 50,000 tonnes of copra at the support price of Rs 3,250 per quintal till July 18 when it had to stop buying as the state could provide storage space for hardly 650 tonnes against an immediate additional requirement of at least 4,500 tonnes. Some economists believe that the slump is the result of the Centre's decisions to liberalise the import of palm oil and allow soap and vanaspati manufacturers to shift from using coconut oil. Though they hope that the crash could be a seasonal phenomenon, they see no beacon of hope. The economists said five years hence, with the proposed opening up of the market and the implementation of the Indo-Sri Lanka trade pact, the plight of Kerala's coconut farmers could worsen. Mumbai buyers are turning to Tamil Nadu - Kerala's nearest competitor - for copra and coconut oil, they added. While announcing that a coconut crushing unit would be set up in each block in the state, Kaniyanparambil urged Malayalees to increase coconut and coconut oil consumption to save their farmer comrades.