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AyRojgar

Coconut oil making

Turning coconuts into copra and crushing it for oil. Ordinary coconut oil sells at Tk 800-1,000 a litre and virgin at Tk 2,420-3,180, and both need a BSTI CM licence.

  • Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
  • Version 1
Starting capital
৳2,00,000 – ৳12,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
2 – 8 people
First sale
45 – 150 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
7 – 14 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Workshop · Medium difficulty

What the business is

Buying coconuts, taking out the kernel, drying it into copra and crushing it in a ghani or a small expeller to draw the oil. The oil goes into two different markets - hair oil and cooking oil - with two different prices and two different sets of rules. On 16 September 2026 Chaldal listed ordinary coconut oil at Parachute 500 ml Tk 450, Jui 350 ml Tk 340, Natura Pure 200 ml Tk 160 and Cute Refined 330 ml Tk 270, which is Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 a litre. Virgin coconut oil is a separate price band: Agrilife 450 ml Tk 1,089 and Ceylon Organic 500 ml Tk 1,590, i.e. Tk 2,420 to Tk 3,180 a litre. On the buying side the raw material is the coconut itself. Chaldal listed one coconut at Tk 169 the same day. In Bera, Pabna in October 2023 a coconut cost Tk 125, against Tk 60-70 a year and a half earlier - the raw material is getting dearer fast. The law is clear. Coconut oil is item 120 on BSTI's mandatory list (BDS 99:2007) and virgin coconut oil item 90 (BDS 2015:2023); both need a CM licence. The test fees are far apart: an ordinary coconut oil sample costs Tk 3,000 over 14 working days, a virgin coconut oil sample Tk 17,100 over the same period. For a small entrant that difference decides which product to start with. Selling in packs with a declared weight also requires the packaged-goods registration certificate.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳60,000 – ৳3,50,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳800 – ৳3,180 / unitMarket quote
Variable cost৳600 – ৳2,600 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin18% – 30%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue45 – 150 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time7 – 14 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle0 – 45 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss3% – 8%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity5 – 50Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • A coconut breaker or hammer, kernel knives, drying racks or a dryer for the copra, a ghani or small expeller, strainers and settling tanks, and filling and sealing equipment.Equipment
  • BSTI CM licence. Coconut oil is item 120 on the mandatory list, BDS 99:2007 (2nd revision); virgin coconut oil is item 90, BDS 2015:2023 Amendment-1:2024. New application Tk 1,000, renewal Tk 1,000. Sample test: coconut oil Tk 3,000 over 14 working days or Tk 6,000 urgent over five; virgin coconut oil Tk 17,100 over 14 working days or Tk 29,200 urgent. Annual CM fee 0.10 percent of ex-factory value with a Tk 3,500 floor.Licence
  • Packaged-goods registration certificate from BSTI's metrology wing under the Weights and Measures Standards Act 2018, taken before packaged goods are sold. Selling without it is tried by mobile court, with fines up to Tk 20 lakh, up to five years in prison or both.Licence
  • Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type. Issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
  • Bangladesh Food Safety Authority registration for edible oil producers. Under the Food Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2026 registration is Tk 1,000, renewal Tk 500, valid three years, and edible oil licensing can run Tk 1,000-5,000.Licence
  • Judging kernel weight from the look of a coconut, knowing how far to dry copra for maximum oil, and settling and clearing the oil properly after crushing.Skill
  • A steady coconut supply - orchard owners, haat traders or a coconut arot - plus bottle and label suppliers and a buyer for the cake.Supplier

How the work runs

  1. 1Decide which oil you will make - ordinary coconut hair oil or edible virgin coconut oil. The BSTI standard and the test fee are different for each.
  2. 2Fix your coconut supply. The coastal and southern districts are where cheap coconuts come from; haul them further than a day's drive and freight eats the margin.
  3. 3Rent a room that can hold the drying space, the crusher and the oil storage tanks together, with a floor and walls that can be washed down.
  4. 4Take out the kernel and dry it in the sun or a dryer to make copra. Dry it badly and the oil yield drops and the oil smells.
  5. 5Crush the copra in a ghani or small expeller, then strain and settle the oil. The leftover cake sells separately.
  6. 6Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality and TIN and VAT registration from NBR.
  7. 7If you make edible oil, register with the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority: fee Tk 1,000, valid three years.
  8. 8Apply to BSTI for the CM licence: application fee Tk 1,000, sample test Tk 3,000 for ordinary coconut oil and Tk 17,100 for virgin coconut oil.
  9. 9If you declare a weight or volume on the pack, take the packaged-goods registration certificate from BSTI's metrology wing.
  10. 10Bottle, label and place with grocers, cosmetics shops and superstores. Sell the cake to cattle farmers or a feed mill - that is the extra income.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebNormal
  3. MarNormal
  4. AprNormal
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunNormal
  7. JulNormal
  8. AugNormal
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovNormal
  12. DecNormal
HighNormalLow

Where it fits

  • Strong fitBarishal · The southern coconut belt, with cheap river transport in and out.
  • Strong fitDhaka · The largest retail and superstore market, and where the BSTI and food safety authority head offices are.
  • Strong fitLakshmipur · One of the country's biggest coconut-growing areas, so the raw material is next door and freight cost is low.
  • Strong fitNoakhali · A coastal district with coconut palms in every homestead, and coconuts can be bought at the local haat.
  • PossibleChattogram · Coconuts can be bought in bulk through the Khatunganj arots, and the city's retail market is large.
  • PossibleCox's Bazar · Coconut groves all along the coast, plus the extra chance of selling a local product to tourists.
  • PossibleJhalokathi · A small district, but with a high density of homestead coconut palms.
  • PossiblePirojpur · Plenty of coconut groves, with easy river access to the Khulna and Barishal markets.

Risks and cautions

  • HighCompliance: Both coconut oil and virgin coconut oil sit on BSTI's mandatory list, so no branded bottle can be sold without a CM licence. The virgin coconut oil sample test is Tk 17,100, nearly six times the Tk 3,000 for ordinary oil. Anyone starting with virgin oil carries that difference in their opening cost, and a failed sample means paying it again.
  • HighWorking capital: Coconuts are getting dearer fast. In Bera, Pabna a coconut cost Tk 125 in October 2023 against Tk 60-70 eighteen months earlier, and Chaldal listed one at Tk 169 in September 2026. The printed price on a bottle cannot move as quickly as the raw material, so the squeeze lands entirely on the maker.
  • MediumDemand: The shelf is already held by Parachute, Jui and Dabur Vatika, whose prices are the same in every shop. A shopkeeper is reluctant to stock an unknown name because customers ask for the one they know, so getting shelf space early on costs commission or credit, and that eats the margin.
  • MediumSpoilage: Copra that is not dried properly moulds and the oil smells off; bottle it and it comes back from the shop. In the monsoon there is no sun to dry with, so in those months either output falls or dryer fuel cost rises.

Sources

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