Rains in Marakkanam & Vedaranyam leave no big impact on Thoothukudi salt market

MADURAI: There is a glimmer of hope for the salt market in Thoothukudi to improve after torrential rains battered Marakkanam in Villupuram district and Vedaranyam of Nagapattinam district.

Apart from Thoothukudi, a major salt production centre in Tamil Nadu, Vedaranyam and Marakkanam are small producers of salt.

Waiting with fingers crossed, M Thenraja, president, Tuticorin Salt Merchants Association, on Tuesday said the market price could rise to around 4,500 per tonne against the existing price of Rs 4,000 a tonne. Declining stocks of Thoothukudi salt would spur market demand for this commodity.

Further, he said if the market price goes up to Rs 5,000 a tonne, then the merchants would have to rely largely on Gujarat, the largest producer of salt in India. According to D Chandra Menon, president, Tuticorin Small Scale Salt Manufacturers Association, the salt production market in Marakkanam would not impact much on the Thoothukudi market, which sees Gujarat as the only biggest competitor.

“Usually, Thoothukudi achieves average annual production of around 20 lakh tonnes, but it has come down to 12 lakh tonnes this year,” he told DT Next.

Currently, a tonne of crystal salt fetches prices ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 to the maximum and free-flow refined salt also experiences a similar market condition, he said.

G Gragadurai, former president of the Association, said as of now, several manufacturers are maintaining limited stocks, which could be over five lakh tonnes.

“If the new season is delayed by rains next year, its market price would go up further,” he said.