Lime shell sector faces headwinds

The shells, once a sought-after raw material for the manufacture of cement, calcium carbide, paper, etc., had some 800 members harvesting them at Muhamma from the bottom of the Vembanad. Over the years, the demand has dwindled, and there are just six people who now harvest the shells

In the compound of the Karappuram Lime Shell Vyavasaya (Industrial) Cooperative Society at Muhamma on the banks of Vembanad Lake in Alappuzha lies a huge pile of white shells worth ₹20 lakh with no takers.

The society during its glory days had some 800 members who harvested white lime shells (fossilised black clams) from the bottom of the lake. Over the years, the demand for the shells in the market dwindled and the society’s membership fell to six. Recently, it decided to entirely shift its business from white lime shells to black shells (obtained from the living black clam population) in a desperate attempt to turn around its fortunes. Though it regained some members, the future of its lime shell business remains bleak.

Lime shells (white and black), once a much-sought-after raw material for the manufacture of cement, calcium carbide, paper, poultry feed making, and in agriculture for neutralising acidity in the soil, are finding few takers nowadays with the entry of cheap alternatives such as dolomite and limestone. The traditional sector, which employs around 11,000 people directly and tens of thousands of people indirectly in the State, has been facing headwinds, and societies are seeking government help to stay afloat.

There are 13 lime shell industrial cooperative societies in Kerala, of which 10 engage in black clam lime shell fishery and the rest in white shell fishery. While the white shell societies, which mostly provide raw material to cement companies and paper units, have met a dead-end, the black shell sector is finding the going tough. According to the societies, the annual business has come down from 50,000 tonnes to less than 30,000 tonnes in recent years.

“When we look at the figures, the annual shell production has gone up and reached 65,000 tonnes. But the demand for the lime shells is diminishing. The societies collect the shells at the rate of ₹72 per 20 kg. To sustain, we need to sell the material for at least ₹7,000 per tonne. In the meantime, industries are getting alternative materials such as dolomite and limestone for as low as ₹4 per kg. The poultry feed makers in Tamil Nadu earlier used the shells as a calcium supplement. They have almost entirely shifted to limestone. Farmers are increasingly using dolomite to neutralise soil acidity,” says P.K. Surendran, president, Karappuram Lime Shell Vyavasaya Cooperative Society, adding that illegal harvesting and indiscriminate collection of juvenile clams were worsening the situation.

The societies pay a royalty of ₹80 per tonne and tax to the government and, as such, demand the government to clamp down on the black market.

“Without the government’s help, we will not be able to survive long. The State government should take the initiative to establish a poultry feed manufacturing unit or any other industrial unit with clam shells as a raw material. The Centre should hike the import tariff of dolomite and limestone. We will try to raise the issues in the sector with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan when the Navakerala Sadas reaches Alappuzha on December 14,” says Damodaran K.S., convener of the Action Council, which acts as the coordination committee of lime shell societies.