Coimbatore : The preparation of palm jaggery (Panai Karuppatti) has gained momentum in Mettupalayam and surrounding areas, with the festival of Pongal just around the corner.
Coimbatore : The preparation of palm jaggery (Panai Karuppatti) has gained momentum in Mettupalayam and surrounding areas, with the festival of Pongal just around the corner.
Even as the number of toddy palms have reduced drastically, the farmers have taken to preparing palm jaggery from coconut palms which are lush in Mettupalayam and its surrounding regions. Presently, a group of farmers have been tapping the palm juice from over 500 trees and preparing palm jaggery in their units. The process involves tapping and preparing the palm drink (Pathaneer) from the toddy and boiling it in high temperatures, in large containers. After leaving it to cool for an hour, the preparation is put in blocks to prepare palm jaggery. It is then taken out and transported for sale to markets.
“The palm jaggery is high in demand during the Pongal season and fetches a good price of upto Rs.150 per kg as against the normal rates of Rs.50 kg around the year,” said a farmer of a palm jaggery unit. The farmers who had taken to manufacturing palm jaggery are elated that they can now sell their products at a good premium price.