THOOTHUKUDI: After ice manufacturers stopped the production of ice blocks citing various factors that contributed to the rise in prices of the finished product, fishing activity has been affected in Thoothukudi district.
Ice blocks are crucial for the fishing industry to freeze the catch, to prevent the fish from decaying, and to bring them to the shore. Over 27 ice manufacturing plants functioning in and around Thoothukudi produce over 18,000 ice blocks. Fishers at the Thoothukudi fishing harbour, Tharuvaikulam fishing harbour and Trespuram boat jetty depend on them.
According to the manufacturers, the ice blocks are manufactured using refrigerated brine and freshwater, the temperature of the freshwater is brought to -12º to produce ice blocks. Recently, ice plant owners announced a hike in the price of one 50kg ice block from Rs 90 to Rs 100. This has not gone down well with fishing vessel owners, and the talks are at a stalemate, said sources. The cost of an ice block of the same weight is Rs 110 in Ramanathapuram and Rs 100 in Kanniyakumari.
According to the Thoothukudi Ice Bar Manufacturers Welfare Association, the cost of a 50 kg ice block was fixed at Rs 90 in 2017. While the major reason for the hike is the recent revision of commercial power tariffs for electricity, the cost of other materials has also gone up over the decade, they said.
The association’s president G Arulraja said electricity charges, which was Rs 5.85 per unit in 2017, has been hiked to Rs 9.75 per unit now. "The cost of one unit of electricity has increased by Rs 3.90, which has affected production," he stated, adding, “Apart from electricity bills, rise in prices of fuel, salt and spares, labour cost, GST, vehicle insurance, road tax and fishing harbour toll fee has increased.”
While the diesel price was Rs 60 per litre in 2017, it is Rs 93 now. The price of one tonne of salt has spiked from Rs 700 to Rs 3,800, whereas the cost of spares for machinery have also surged by 30%, the manufacturers added.
Citing all the price rise factors, we requested the fishermen associations to increase the cost by Rs 20 per block, which they hesitated to accept and are yet to agree upon, said Arulraja.
The ice block manufacturers stopped production after the talks between the fishing vessel owners and the ice block manufacturers association did not come to an agreement. The halting of ice block production had affected over 500 mechanised vessels and 500 country boats, affecting the livelihood of over 5,000 fisherfolk.
When asked, fishermen at the Thoothukudi fishing harbour said they are purchasing the ice blocks from retail traders who sell each 50 kg block for Rs 140. If the producers increase the cost to Rs 100, the traders will hike the cost to Rs 150. This will further add to our financial stress, they rued.