As toddy shops open, questions over supply

Poor supply may prove a dampener

A worker cleaning the interiors of a toddy shop in Kaloor, Kochi, on Tuesday. The toddy shops in Kerala will start functioning from Wednesday after remaining closed for more than a month.

Toddy lovers may have to wait for some more time to feast on their favourite drink as there is acute shortage of toddy in the State.

Most of the toddy shops may remain closed for a few more days for want of toddy though the State government has permitted them to resume business from Wednesday. Around 3.5 lakh litres of toddy is sold daily across the State. It may take at least a month for the steady supply of toddy to shops, according to licensees.

“Coconut trees start yielding toddy at least 15 days after the flower stalk is prepared for tapping. At least one month will be required to get a steady stream of toddy,” says V.K. Ajith Babu, State secretary, Toddy Shop Licensee Association.

Toddy tappers hit

Most of the toddy tappers have been rendered jobless due to the lockdown and only a few have turned up for the job after the State government permitted tapping. The workforce needs to be mobilised once again to resume the business, Mr. Babu says.

As many as 4,616 toddy shops had functioned in the State last year, employing over 30,000 persons who were members of the Kerala Toddy Workers Welfare Fund Board.

Some of the licensees have spruced up the shops after the State government permitted sale from Wednesday by observing social distancing norms. Customers are banned from consuming toddy inside the shop. Instead, they could purchase it in containers, according to the guidelines.

There is acute shortage of toddy tapped from coconut trees and no shop can function feasibly with the limited quantity of toddy from palm trees, says John Joseph, a shop licensee of the Mamala range.

Palm toddy is available only in some parts of Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts. It is mostly the toddy from coconut trees that is sold. On an average, around 150 litres of toddy is sold in shops. Each shop employees five tappers and three staff, says Mr. Joseph, who owns two shops in the Mamala range.

Only 10 of the 40 toddy shops in the Ernakulam range would resume functioning on Wednesday owing to the short supply of toddy, says P.N. Seenulal, president, Ernakulam Toddy Shop Employees Union. The case of other shops would be decided considering the toddy production in the coming days, he says.