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TN jaggery: Farmers and jaggery producers around Tamil Nadu have requested the state government to include locally made jaggery in the yearly Pongal gift basket given out via fair price stores as the harvest festival draws near.

According to them, taking this action will help thousands of rural people who are dealing with growing production costs and dwindling demand, in addition to bolstering traditional cottage businesses.

As part of its annual festive welfare program, the Tamil Nadu government provides ration card users with basic necessities including sugar, sugarcane, and uncooked rice.

Producers of jaggery contend that substituting locally produced jaggery for refined sugar will improve rural livelihoods and encourage better consumption habits.

More than 100 traditional jaggery units are dispersed across Palacode, Pennagaram, Papparapatti, and other villages in Dharmapuri district, one of the state’s main jaggery-producing belts.

Producers in the area claim that while making a substantial contribution to the state’s overall jaggery production, the industry has been continuously diminishing because of low demand, growing input prices, and contracting profit margins.

With around 60 tons generated per day, Dharmapuri alone produces between 17 and 20 percent of Tamil Nadu’s jaggery, according to industry officials.

However, manufacturing is becoming less and less feasible due to rising prices. Almost one tonne of sugarcane, which costs around Rs 2,800, is needed to manufacture 100 kg of jaggery.

The overall cost of manufacturing is between Rs 5,200 and Rs 5,500 due to additional costs such transportation, gasoline, labor, and processing, while market prices are only between Rs 46 and Rs 48 per kilogram, which consistently results in losses.

The issue has been made worse by a lack of workers. The labor-intensive and trained personnel needed for jaggery manufacture now seek daily pay between Rs 700 and Rs 1,000.

Because of the physically hard nature of the labor and the unpredictable returns, many employees are hesitant to stay in the industry. Incorporating jaggery into the Pongal gift program, according to producers, would guarantee demand, stabilize prices, and support conventional production techniques.

District administration officials have admitted that similar requests have been made in the past, but they have made it clear that the state government has the last say since it concerns policy-level issues.

The action is seen by thousands of farmers and small-scale industries as a lifeline that may revitalize a dwindling rural sector and strengthen the harvest festival’s cultural significance.