Chennai, Oct 3 Salt production in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu has been hit following unseasonal rains.
Heavy rain in Thoothukudi district which produces the maximum salt in South India has led to the salt pans getting inundated, leading to major decline in production.
As per the Thoothukudi salt industry, the annual production of salt from the district is 20 lakh tonnes but it touched only 12 lakh tonnes this year even as the season comes to an end in October.
This sharp decline in production will have major consequences for both manufacturers and workers.
Tuticorin Small Scale Salt Manufacturers Association (TSSSMA) in a statement on Thursday said that production has been hit and the continuing rains that have been forecast will put the already beleaguered manufacturers in a spot.
With the salt production coming down, there is a possibility of a price hike.
At present, one tonne of quality salt fetches anywhere from Rs 2,200 to Rs 3,500, but as the production has come down drastically, the price will increase in the days to come.
M Thenraja, President of the Tuticorin Salt Merchants Association said that after the lull in production, the buyers have gone to Gujarat which is the largest manufacturer of salt in the country.
He said that Gujarat has already captured 60 per cent of the market, impacting the Thoothukudi industry.
The TSSSMA also said that production in 50 per cent of salt pans at Tiruchendur, Punnaikayil, Kayalpattinam and Veppaladai has come down significantly due to the unseasonal rains.
The association said that after the 2023 floods the industry was slowly limping back to normalcy but the sudden rains have been a major hindrance to the production of salt in the district.
It may be recalled that salt production commences in mid-February and ends in September just before the commencement of the northeast monsoon which hits the state by October.
The Thoothukudi salt industry which is the second-largest in the country after Gujarat, employs 30,000 workers.
Veerasami, a social activist based out of Thoothukudi told IANS, “If the production of salt is hit, then around 30,000 workers and their families will be affected. In fact, the production capacity of Thoothukudi is 25 lakh tonnes but last year it produced 20 lakh tonnes and this season it has come down to around 12 lakh tonnes and this will create a lot of issues in Thoothukudi for the salt manufacturers as well as for the workers and their families.”
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