NAGAPATTINAM: With the northeast monsoon beginning to intensify, salt pans in Vedaranyam have begun winding up production. Small-scale salt manufacturers have termed production ‘decent’ owing to sunshine in the second and third quarters of the year. The past few days have seen rains slowly starting to frequent in Vedaranyam block, and salt manufacturers, reading them as signs of the monsoon nearing, are stopping production for the year.
‘Mahalakshmi’ Senthil, secretary of Vedaranyam Small Scale Salt Manufacturers Federation said, “We were initially struggling to get going due to unseasonal rains in the first quarter. Then, as the sun started to shine and the temperature began soaring, we augmented our production. As a result, we have extracted around 60 % of the salt which we can in a year.”
While the lack of rains hit agriculture in Vedaranyam, salt production began thriving, giving producers much-needed relief from the initial setback in the first quarter. Small-scale salt producers in the region have managed to produce around 80,000 tonnes of salt this year. “I managed to produce around 250 out of my target of 350 tonnes in four acres this year. The late sunshine proved helpful, otherwise, my business would have been completely dry,” said S Meganathan, a salt producer from Kovilthavu.
S Vetriazhagan, a salt producer from Kailavanampettai said, “I managed to produce around a hundred tonnes from an acre. I would have produced a lot more if not for the unseasonal rains. The weather has been favourable for the past five months.”
With production now concluded, salt pans will now focus on exporting their remaining stock until January. The remaining salt heaps will be covered with thatches and wrapped for the gradual process of export amid downpours. The preliminary works for the next season would begin in January.