Fishermen of Odisha’s Ganjam district are facing an unusual problem thanks to the lockdown sparked off by the COVID-19 pandemic — a shortage of cheap sea salt has crippled the production of dried fish.
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Till recently, a 50-kg bag of salt cost ₹170. Around 8 kg to 10 kg of salt is needed to produce one quintal (100 kg) of dried fish.
However, post the lockdown, the price of salt almost doubled and made the production of dried fish practically unviable.
Some families started using commercial salt from grocery stores to produce dried fish. “But it increases production cost, so we only make it for own use or in case some one places order,” said M. Kumudu, a fisherwoman.
No stock
Fishermen used to procure the cheaper product from the salt beds near Humma in the district.
But production by the Humma Binchanapalli Salt Production and Sales Cooperative has dwindled considerably over the past few years. K. Duryodhan Reddy, a former secretary of the cooperative, said there was presently no stock.
Samudram, a community-based federation of women self-help groups has stopped production of dried fish and other value-added seafood products, said B. Chitamma, its managing director.
Recently, an organisation named ‘United Artists’ tried to procure three quintals of dried fish to distribute it along with other relief materials to the poor. While a kilo of dried sardine used to cost ₹50, the group had to pay ₹70.
Others have started making dried fish without salt. But the market for this is low — dried fish without salt is mostly bought only by poultry feed manufacturers.
“Availability of salt at low cost can boost the income of fisher families. Earlier, Samudram used to send its dried fish to several other States,” said Mangaraj Panda, convener of Odisha Marine Resources Conservation Consortium.
