Crisis in Sri Lanka’s age-old toddy industry as licence fees rise sharply
A toddy tapper
A recent 2016 Budget proposal to sharply increase the annual licence fee for toddy bottling plants and collection centres may well result in the death knell of an ages-old industry in which thousands of families depend on. It is affecting the bottom end of the employed society where the toddy tapper is said to be the lowest income earner in the economy. In the budget, the government said it was increasing the annual license fee of a toddy bottling plant to Rs. 1 million from Rs 200,000, a huge jump, and to Rs. 100,000 from Rs. 25,000 on toddy collecting centres.
According to the toddy tapping industry sources, the new fee became effective on January 1 this year and as a result a large number of bottling plants in northern Sri Lanka has already closed down with some bottlers saying they cannot derive an income to meet the licence fee.
There are about 80,000 toddy tappers of palmyrah or coconut trees across the country who are members of the Consumer Cooperative Society Federation. The federation has appealed against the new fee to the Minister of Finance through the Minister of Cooperative Affairs.
Faced with a looming crisis, members of the federation met in Colombo recently, to plan out a strategy to plead the authorities to either reduce or abolish this licence fee. From the northern province alone covering four districts – Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mannar – two busloads of cooperative society members involved in palmyrah toddy tapping travelled to Colombo for the meeting. According to Ms. Madhumathi Wasanthakumar, Northern Province Commissioner of Consumer Cooperative Society Federation, there are about 20,000 involved in palmyrah toddy tapping.
She said they all are agitating for a reduction in the licence fee. She said that there are about 48 cooperative societies dealing with the toddy tappers and around 80,000 families are involved in palmyrah industry – toddy bottling and in related industries using this raw material. She said that tapping in this province is seasonal and during the season around 500,000 gallons of toddy is tapped per day. According to D.S.K. Pathirana, General Manager, Consumer Cooperative Society Federation, there are about 12 coconut toddy bottling plants in areas other than the north. There were some plants in the Kalutara and Wadduwa areas but they are now closed down.Some toddy drinkers told the Business Times that consumption of bottled toddy is a counter to the use of illicit alcohol. They pointed out that discouraging toddy bottling and increasing the price of the product would boost the illicit liquor industry.