According to sources, farmers would usually register their sugarcane area with the sugar mills but divert cane loads for jaggery if the jaggery prices were higher than that offered for cane by the mills. While this move affected the anticipated sugar production, officials of cooperative sugar mills at Vellore, Ambur and Tirupattur were helpless in acting against defaulting farmers. District farmers would even opt for jaggery production based on the prices offered for it in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh whose towns willingly purchased it in loads, sources said.

However, over the years, declining prices for jaggery and increased prices for sugar have resulted in jaggery production going on the decline. The Vellore Vella Mundy Street, which used to see nearly 100 trucks a day with the product, now reportedly sees less than 10 per cent.

However, during festivals like Pongal and Deepavali, a few farmers still involve in jiggery production in areas like Ammundi and near Gudiyattam. However, in a bid to ensure more profit, farmers are known to mix maida and white sugar at the syrup stage. “The white colour seen in brown jaggery is due to this reason,” said Vellore cooperative sugar mill chairman M Anandan.

With sugar mills having pending farmers’ dues amounting to crores of rupees and an increasing demand for natural products could, however, provide a ray of hope for jaggery production to revive. Farmers already affected by drought and pending dues in sugar mills are, however, seem to be loathe to opting for jaggery production in a big way for the present.