Absence of a processing facility has subjected jasmine growers in Sathyamangalam area to the market vagaries.
According to Muthusamy, representative of Jasmine Producers’ Association in Sathyamangalam, the Government has not fulfilled the long-felt requirement of jasmine growers for suitable land to shift its marketing facility from a rented premise where they have been paying a monthly rent of Rs. 45,000.
The cultivators say they are at the mercy of middlemen who channel the flowers to the over 20 scent factories elsewhere in the State and for domestic and export markets.
Due to the absence of a proper cold storage facility, the producers suffer a lot when price fluctuations happen due to market uncertainties.
This being the season, the glut situation often causes price variations.
Earlier this week, the prices fell to as low as Rs. 30 a kg. On Thursday, the prices stabilised to Rs. 200 per kg, which is considered ideal by producers.
The cultivation cost has escalated steeply. Each labourer is paid Rs. 35 for plucking a kg of the flower in addition to timely refreshments and lunch, says Mr. Muthusamy, appealing to the government to establish a perfume unit so as to spare the cultivators from the grip of middlemen.
There are about 1,700 jasmine growers undertaking cultivation in nearly 8,000 acres in Sathy taluk. Considering that the yield per day ranges from 10 to 30 tonnes, there would be enough supply of flowers in natural freshness to the perfume unit.
To begin with, the Government should establish exclusive cold storage facility for jasmine that is transported from Sathyamangalam market to places as far as Hyderabad, Mumbai and Sharjah, Mr. Muthusamy said.
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has been advocating standardisation of post-harvest technologies for jasmine through chemical treatments to increase shelf life, improving packaging suiting preservation of the flowers to distant markets, and storage temperature to increase post-harvest life of jasmine flowers.
Cultivators say creation of suitable facilities for application of these technologies would shield them from market vagaries.
