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Tapioca farmers in Salem feel the chill wind of price crash
The New Indian Express Coimbatore
|August 20, 2025
A massive drop in the price of tapioca, from ₹14,000 per tonne last year to ₹4,500 this season, has left farmers struggling in Salem as they are unable to even cover the production costs.
Once considered a drought-resistant crop, the drop in tapioca price is now pushing cultivators into crisis mode or forcing them to abandon the crop altogether.
In Salem district, which contributes a major share of the state's tapioca output, farmers say they cannot even take the production cost back unless the price touches at least ₹6,000 per tonne.
"Last year, we managed to sell at ₹12,000-₹14,000, but this year it has dropped drastically. Once a farmer-friendly crop, tapioca has now become risky business," said S Jayaraman, a tapioca farmer and president of the Salem District Farmers Club Federation.
In its 2021 Assembly election manifesto, the DMK assured that a MSP would be fixed for tapioca through. However, farmers say the promise has not been kept.
This story is from the August 20, 2025 edition of The New Indian Express Coimbatore.
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