Kerala Agricultural University to test Marayur jaggery quality

KOTTAYAM: We will soon know whether the Marayur jaggery produced from Marayur and Kanthalloor panchayats in Idukki district has acceptable quality. The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) at Mannuthy will submit a report soon on its quality based on the research it has been conducting. The KAU is expected to  recommend the product for getting the Geographical Indication (GI) certificate granted by the government of India. This will be done as per the GI Act and based on the directives of the World Trade Organisation.

“We have conducted the chemical analysis of the jiggery and the report will be sent to the government of India,” Dr C.R. Elsy, coordinator of the Intellectual Property Rights and Professor at the KAU, told this newspaper. The study will find the unique qualities  of the product, including the climate in the area of production,  soil, method of production, the varieties of sugarcane cultivated, the traditional knowledge and skill involved in the cultivation and the jaggery production.

The KAU has also invited entries for designing a special logo for the Marayur jaggery. There are hundreds of farmers in Marayur and Kanthalloor region cultivating the sugarcane for producing jiggery. One kg of Marayur jaggery costs up to Rs 55. The sugarcane is cultivated in at least 1,600 hectares of land. The GI status will help the product to find an international market.

V. Rajan, who owns a Jaggery shop at Marayur town, says that  the GI status will help the sale  of the product apart from distinguishing it  from the fake jaggery in the market.   The government of India had given GI certificate for eight products proposed by the KAU, including e Pokkali rice, Wayanad Jeeraka Shala rice, Wayanad Gandjaka Shala rice, Vazhakulam pineapple, Central Travancore jaggery, Kaip-adu rice and Chengalikodan Nenthran banana in the last 10 years.