Jaggery production in full swing ahead of Pongal in Madurai

With Pongal festival round the corner, jaggery is among the commodities that will fly off the racks in and around Madurai.

With Pongal festival round the corner, jaggery is among the commodities that will fly off the racks.

The price of jaggery, which usually revolves around ₹60 a kg, may flare up to ₹90 a kg because of the festival. As a result, the producers are in a rush to take advantage of the demand. This organic sugar is prepared in several parts of Madurai district, including Alanganallur, Kottanathampatti, Thirumangalam, and Karumathur. 

A third generation sugarcane farmer with a mandi at Kondayampatti village in Vadipatti taluk, 35-year-old P. Marthandan is among the few producers who harvest from their own fields. Being a perennial crop, the sugarcane stump can grow again without having to be replanted after each harvest.

“Jaggery production is a traditional practice which should be organic and adulteration free. If made accurately, the outcome would be a deliciously sweet concoction,” says Mr. Marthandam. He has five workers in his mandi, who begin by crushing the canes to extract the sap. About 300 to 400 litres of sap can be collected from a tonne of sugarcane. The extracted sap is then boiled in a broad cauldron and stirred every few minutes. Slaked lime (sunnambu) is added to the mixture to remove impurities. Once right consistency is achieved, it is transferred to another vessel to cool down. The mixture is then made into earthly brown jaggery balls.

The progressive farmer produces around 100 kg of jaggery every day from the harvested sugarcane. He then heads to the jaggery market at Nelpettai in Madurai city to sell the produce on a weekly basis. The price of the natural sugar is determined through auction and changes every day based on the demand.

“The darker the jaggery the higher its value. Also, organic jaggery cannot be stored longer than a month which is why we cannot keep stock and have to sell it every week,” adds the farmer.

With the increasing preference for organic food and a healthier lifestyle, there is a significant shift in the demand for naturally prepared jaggery over processed sugar. Nevertheless, the industry is going in a backward trend with very few farmers choosing to plant sugarcane due to increased labour costs.