Kollam or Quilon is an old seaport and a city on the Laccadive Sea coast in Kerala, India, on Ashtamudi Lake. The city remains notable as the ancient commercial capital of Kerala and the southwestern Indian coast, in addition to its fame as the "Cashew Capital of the World". The Kollam Municipal Corporation has the second largest budget in Kerala in terms of revenue and expenditure.
Overview
The Kollam sea port was founded by Mar Abo in 825 AD, sanctioned via the Tamil king of Venad (otherwise called the Ay kingdom), Udayamarthandavarma. The trade and business culture of Quilon is as old as Kollam Port. Kollam was the most famous port city in India, serving as a business hub for merchants from China, Middle East, Dutch, Portugal, Brazil and other Eastern Mediterranean countries. The recent discovery of treasures and remnants at the Kollam Port area substantiates claims concerning ancient trade activities related to old the Quilon city; archaeologists believe that there is an engulfed city in the seabed of the current Kollam Port.
Since the 1950s, local businessmen are active in the business of the city; key players, like the TKM Group, started their first business center and potentially the first mall at the heart of Kollam in 1950, at Chinnakada. This enterprise included several shops and the Grand and Prince Theatres. Their first bakery, "Supreme", started in 1984 at Chinnakada, now a prominent group across Kollam, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram. Kollam is a moderately industrialized city, with several of the major employers in the public sector remaining Indian Rare Earths Limited (IRE), Kerala Metals and Minerals Limited, United Electrical Industries Limited or UNILEC (popularly known as the Meter Company), the Kerala Primo Pipe Factory, Parvathy Mills Limited, ALIND Kundara and Kerala Ceramics.
The industrial estates within the city include: The Industrial Estate at Mundakkal and The SIDCO Industrial Estate at Umayanalloor/
Economy
Kollam is a relatively industrialized city, and the Kollam Municipal Corporation is the second-largest revenue-earning city corporation in Kerala, second to Kochi. The meeting of three National Highways and a flourishing Port has made the city a favorable location for export and import businesses. Educational institutions like the TKM College of Engineering are known as the "cradle of Kerala entrepreneurs", as they greatly encourage entrepreneurial activities. Kollam was the third city in Kerala to adopt a shopping mall culture, (after Kochi and Kozhikode). The Kollam district ranks first in livestock wealth in the state. Downtown Kollam is the leading central business district of the city, with the city remaining the most populous incorporated city in Kerala until 2005; during that time, the population density in the city was 6041 individuals per square kilometer.
Because of Kollam's importance as a trade and export hub, the Export Inspection Council of India (EICI) runs a sub-office with a laboratory facility in the city, one of the 7 sub-offices of the EICI in South India. Along with the city, the town of Punalur and suburbs of cities such as Chavara and Kundara are also industrially well-developed in nature.
The cashew business
Kollam is the largest processed cashew exporter in the world; in recent years, over 600 cashew processing centres developed in the city and approximately 800,000 tonnes of raw cashews are brought to Kollam for processing every year. 90% of India's export quality cashew kernels are prepared from Kollam, with the city remaining known as the "Cashew Capital of the World". The CEPCI, responsible for the promotion of cashew exports, is expecting a rise in exported products to 275,000 tonnes by 2020.
Two principal councils/agencies are working at Kollam for the growth of the cashew business of the city, in addition to its export promotion; they are the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) and the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Limited (KSCDC).