Salt price keeps producers happy despite decline in production

The traditional salt industry is an important part of Thoothukudi’s economy. Currently, its production is down by 40 per cent against 90 per cent last year.

However, a tonne of manufactured salt fetches a revenue of Rs 700 to Rs 800, said G Gragadurai, president, Thoothukudi Small Scale Salt Manufacturers Association. Previous year, a tonne of salt fetched only Rs 400.

Unusually, the production got off to a late start this year and the reason for the delay could be attributed to unseasonal rains, he told DT Next on Sunday.

ARAS Dhanabalan, secretary of the Association, said only 60 per cent of production could be achieved this year. After five weeks of activities in salt pans, production touched only 20 per cent.

With only a period of three months, which are conducive to production, left in this calendar year, about 30 to 40 per cent of production could be achieved, if there is no rain intervention.

Apart from domestic market, the manufacturers had been largely relying on the export market of this commodity.

B Prabhakaran John, an exporter, said volumes of salt from Thoothukudi had been shipped through containers to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The decline in production could not suit demands of the importers.

Sources from the Shipping Industry said overseas shipment of salt touched around 26,000 tonne so far, this year. Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand were the largest buyers of Thoothukudi salt, whereas, small volumes were shipped to Korea, he said.

Normally, the production is at its peak in the months of July and August every year and with the onset of the Northeast monsoon in October, production would come to a halt, MSA Peter Jebaraj, president, Gandhi Irwin Salt Manufacturers Association, said. He was optimistic that the market trend would remain same in the coming days as well.