7 months ago
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Escalating labour costs, coupled with different factors, proceed to interaction jaggery manufacturers successful the district, starring to the closure of respective labour-intensive units.
With the Pongal festival a period away, accumulation of jaggery (vellam), a cardinal constituent successful saccharine pongal, is gathering gait astatine cottage units operating crossed Mullamparappu, Arachalur, Ammapettai, Kavindhapadi, and a fewer different areas. Sugarcane, the superior input, sourced from wrong the territory and neighbouring regions, is processed into jaggery and marketed crossed the State.
Each portion engages astir six to 10 workers, including women, and labourers from different districts are besides employed. While respective units relation year-round, others run depending connected the availability of sugarcane.
“The fig of operational units has declined sharply implicit the past 10 to 15 years,” said S. Subramanian, a portion proprietor from Mullamparappu. He said the outgo of sugarcane has accrued to ₹3,500 per tonne, portion expenses related to cutting, transportation, labour progressive successful production, and different input costs person risen importantly implicit the years. However, a 30-kg container (chippam) continues to fetch betwixt ₹1,200 and ₹1,800, with prices remaining mostly static. “Profit margins person wholly eroded,” helium said.
Another portion owner, who has exited the business, said the beingness of low-priced jaggery produced done spurious practices has emerged arsenic a superior interest for the sector. Speaking connected information of anonymity, helium said astir two-thirds of the units person been driven retired of concern owed to escalating labour costs and adulteration.
The full accumulation process, from cane cutting, loading and unloading to crushing, boiling, and moulding, is afloat manual, with labour expenses constituting astir 60 to 70 per cent of full accumulation costs. “Mechanisation is impractical, portion inconsistent cane prime and a diminution successful request person further compounded our problems,” said different portion owner, who appealed to the authorities to promote jaggery consumption. Many units besides nutrient state sweetener (naatu sakkarai) alongside jaggery to stay viable.
