The Indian coir industry’s green product and natural fibre based exports, constitutes a major source of rural livelihoods and sustainable economic activity. An analysis of the long-term export performance of the Indian coir industry, through a review of coir export quantities and values over the period between 2000-2001 and 2023-2024. Using secondary data from a well-established industry-specific database the study reports on its growth pattern, stability and threats it faces, such as production-level uncertainty, product quality inconsistency and limited adoption of advanced production technologies. The analysis identifies a strong export quantity- and value-export asymmetry, with export quantity exhibiting much higher volatility than the stable, value-exhibiting export value. These export parameters align with the coir export sector’s structural characteristics and highlight the value realisation aspect of the sector. Additionally, it identifies how technology upgradation projects, such as mechanised fibre extraction, improved quality inspection procedures and automated packaging, can be introduced as enhancement activities to improve production stability and enhance the sector’s export competitiveness. By combining a historical performance analysis approach with an interpretative approach, the analysis offers policy implications to policymakers, exporters and other stakeholders in the industry that can be applied to formulate a strategy for not only retaining the strong position India holds in the global coir market but also identifying a route for a sustainably green industry that is enabled to experience coir production led growth.