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Kozhikode: The price of common salt has risen around 70 per cent during the last one month here. Traders say the rise is due to the unseasonal showers in March that severely affected salt production at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, the key production centre in south India.
Yesterday, the wholesale price of salt was Rs300 (Dh27.45) per 70 kilogramme bag. "The price was Rs170 (Dh15.56) a month ago. This is the steepest rise in price that I have ever seen," says Mohammad Sali, a salt trader for the last 22 years.
The escalation in price of salt powder is comparatively moderate. "The price of powder has gone up by Rs30 (Dh2.75) per 25 kilogramme bag and it is Rs5.6 (Dh0.51) a kilogramme compared to Rs4.4 (Dh0.4) a month ago," he says.
However, more than the price rise, it is the shortage of supply which is worrying traders. "The companies are not taking orders for supply. Maybe producers are waiting to hike the price further," he says.
"The price may come down in a few weeks; but it will not come to the previous levels," says Feroz Khan, Sali's business partner.
Industries affected
"Unseasonal rain has affected production. We are to start the salt production in 20 days if there is no rain. But this will not make up the loss in production. Market may witness a shortage of 40 to 50 per cent in coming days," Latha Rangarajan, brand manager of G. Das & Company Private Limited, which produces 100,000 tonnes of salt a year, said.
The price escalation of salt is also affecting industries like the textile sector that uses salt as a raw material.
Tata Chemicals, one of the largest suppliers of edible salt, however, says they have neither hiked the price of their product nor faced salt shortage.
"As far as we are concerned there is no shortage. We are sourcing salt from Gujarat. In Tuticorin, there is a production shortage of around 40 per cent."
"There is no question of price increase as far as Tata Salt is concerned. I don't know about other brands," said A.S. Venkitaramanan, regional sales manager of Tata Chemicals.
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