Udumalai: Producers have expressed concern that the puffed rice manufacturing industry in Udumalai is declining due to the rising prices of raw materials.
The business of making puffed rice is being carried out in various villages near Udumalai, including Eripalayam, Kumaralingam, Kolumam, and Pappankulam.
Rice with special qualities for making puffed rice is purchased in tons from Kolkata and the state of Karnataka.
This rice is soaked in water, dried in the sun, and piled into small heaps. Then the required amount of salt, sugar, baking soda, and river sand is added, and it is processed for a few hours.
When parboiled rice is placed on the stove and cooked gently for more than two hours, crispy and tasty puffed rice is prepared.
This year, the rise in the prices of raw materials has affected producers. Last year, puffed rice sold for Rs. 55 per kilogram; now, due to various reasons, its price has increased and it is being sold for Rs. 75.
The finished puffed rice is packed into sacks and sent for sale through wholesale traders to Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Madurai, Pollachi, Dindigul, and various parts of Kerala.
Regarding this, producer Poongodi Senthilkumar said, “We sell puffed rice by the measure and in full sacks. Due to the rise in raw material prices, a sack of puffed rice weighing 55 pacca is currently being sold for Rs. 570.
Recently, with the increase in the supply of foreign snacks, the sales of traditional puffed rice have declined significantly. Now, with the Saraswati Pooja and Ayudha Pooja festivals approaching, sales have picked up.
However, after the festival, the business will go into a slump. In the Udumalai region, more than 100 families were previously engaged in this trade.
However, as the industry declined, most people moved on to other jobs. The Tamil Nadu government should step in to revive the declining puffed rice production industry and the livelihoods of the families that depend on it,” he said.
Puffed rice producers hope that the government will provide subsidized loans to buy modern machinery needed for production and protect this traditional industry.