Heavy rain in Gujarat triggers more demand for Thoothukudi salt
Except for unseasonal rains in May, salt production is expected to boom in coming months until September.
A worker at a saltpan in Thoothukudi
MADURAI: Rains triggered after Cyclone Biporjoy in Gujarat, the largest salt producer in India, triggered fresh demands for salt manufactured in Thoothukudi. Moreover, several parts of Andhra Pradesh were also pounded by heavy rains during this Southwest monsoon season boosting demands from buyers for the Thoothukudi salt, Michael Motha, salt manufacturer- cum-exporter from Thoothukudi said on Sunday.
Several manufacturers here would like to cash in on the growing demand to increase production, SKSCN Dharmaraj, a manufacturer- cum-merchant and former chairman of CII, Thoothukudi, said. With salt production picking up in Thoothukudi, salt manufacturers are upbeat about future prospects this year. After a brief suspension of production in May when rains intervened, salt production returned to normal levels since June, MP Dileep, a salt producer from Thoothukudi, said hoping that this year could be better than the last two years.
Except for unseasonal rains in May, salt production is expected to boom in coming months until September. During this monsoon season, westerly winds bring relatively warm moist air conducive to salt manufacturing, Dileep told DT Next. The average annual production of salt in Thoothukudi is 25 lakh tonnes, but its output declined and was below average over the last two years.
On its market value, Dileep said the price of manufactured salt is so volatile. When the manufacturers were almost ready to resume production this year, its market price dropped in April, but has increased since May. Unlike last year, when a tonne of edible salt fetched prices ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 3,000 at market, it has come down at about Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 a tonne depending on its quality, he pointed out.
On the situation now, S Petchimuthu, a salt producer, was optimistic saying that Thoothukudi salt could fetch a higher price in coming days. G Gragadurai, former president, Thoothukudi Small Scale Salt Manufacturers Association, said about 65 per cent of the total production capacity was achieved last year and it’s expected to go beyond that this year.
ARAS Dhanabalan, former secretary of the Association, said 30 per cent of total production was achieved during June and it could go beyond 70 per cent until the fag end of September depending on the weather. However, the weather is unpredictable since these days in the ongoing SW monsoon are not windy, unusually.
