Bumper harvest fails to cheer TN jaggery producers
Despite a bumper sugarcane harvest in Salem, jaggery producers face high cane prices due to soaring demand from sugar mills. Premium quality cane is priced at Rs 3,500 per tonne in Salem, compared to Rs 3,000 elsewhere. Limited chemical fertilizer use and transportation costs impact jaggery production costs.
COIMBATORE: A bumper harvest of sugarcane has failed to cheer up jaggery producers churning out huge quantities of the delicacy ahead of Pongal in Salem, the hub for jaggery production in Tamil Nadu.
Despite a good harvest, sugarcane prices haven’t come down because of soaring demand from mills manufacturing sugar that commands better prices than ever.
“Because of rains over the last two years, there is a bountiful harvest of cane. But cane prices haven’t come down, and cane is priced at Rs 3,500 per tonne in Salem for its premium quality, as opposed to Rs 3,000 per tonne in other cane harvesting districts of Tamil Nadu. Minimal use of chemical fertilisers by farmers in the Salem region makes it preferable for jaggery producers. Also, purchasing from other districts adds to transportation costs for jaggery producers,” said S Sathish, ex-secretary of the Salem district Jaggery Manufacturers Association.
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