Sharp increase in the price of ‘korai’ grass, the raw material for making mats, has hit the ‘korai’ mat industry hard in Musiri.
A large number of mat manufacturing units are located in and around Vadugapatti near Musiri.
On an average, about 1,000 mats are manufactured by each factory every day.
Each factory employs at least 60 workers and most of them are women. In the first phase, the women are responsible for processing the ‘korai’ bundles and dyeing them.
Men are mostly involved in handling the electrically-operated machinery through which 100 to 125 mats a day are produced depending on the power supply each day. The sharp increase in the price of ‘korai’ and scarcity of the raw material push manufacturers to invest huge sums of money in stocking the grass. Musiri is ideally suited for the industry as ‘korai’ is grown on 1,500 acres of land in a cluster of villages in and around the town.
However, the cultivation cost of the grass has skyrocketed in the last few years, say a cross section of manufacturers in Vadugapatti near Musiri.
Further, the sale of korai mats too has seen a slump. “However, we continue with our usual production level to ensure the employment of our workers. Our only solace is the better power supply situation,” say the factory managers.
