Manapparai murukku makers face price rise crunch

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Over 700 families depend on the sale of murukku in Manapparai for their survival. File | Photo Credit: M. Moorthy

A steady rise in prices of edible oil, gas, and other essential goods in the aftermath of the war in West Asia has hit the Murukku makers of Manapparai, as over 700 families engaged in the cottage industry face uncertain times.

The Manapparai Murukku is made out of a thick dough of rice flour, urad dal, salt, and spices. The bite-sized snack gets its distinctive crunch due to its double-frying and earned a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2023.

“At present, murukku manufacturers are facing a labour crunch; fuel such as firewood and commercial cooking gas are getting harder to source and there is the inflationary pricing of our staple requirements such as cooking oil, rice flour, lentils, and spices. It is a tough time for our industry,” Sekhar Muthusamy, president, Manapparai Murukku Manufacturers Association, told The Hindu.

Murukku stalls on the Manapparai-Dindigul highway that attract travellers in large numbers said that the war had raised the cost of food grade plastic packaging, an essential part of marketing the snack food.

“Though our production costs are going up, we are not able to increase our prices because customers are reluctant to pay more than ₹20-₹25 for a packet of 12 murukkus,” said a stall owner.

Manapparai’s units used refined oil, groundnut and palm oil to fry the snacks. “Refined oil is considered to be the healthier option, and the murukkus have a shelf life of two months. A kilo of murukku fried in refined oil costs ₹324 while that fried in palm oil used to cost ₹250, but has now increased to ₹300. Retailers from big cities tend to source murukkus from Manapparai and re-sell them at a big mark-up. It is sad that our manufacturers are unable to make ends meet locally,” said Mr. Muthusamy.