Visakhapatnam: The lower jaggery production has affected the jaggery market at Anakapalle, one of the biggest markets in AP and South India, reports The Times of India.
The market has witnessed a decline in the arrival of jaggery lumps by 30-40% this season compared to the last season.
Jaggery units in the district start operations in October and the jaggery starts arriving in the market from December to April.
On average 10,000 to 14,000 jaggery lumps used to arrive in the market last season but now only 6,000 to 8,000 lumps are arriving, said a trader based in the market.
The economy of the Anakapalle district revolves around the jaggery market and if the trading at the market drops, it will affect the region’s economy, he said.
The reason behind the decline in the supply of jaggery lumps is the shifting of farmers from cane cultivation to other crops, said D. Shankuntala, secretary of the Anakapalle jaggery market.
Some jaggery producers have stopped operations as the area under cane cultivation has dropped, he said.
