IDEAL drink: Palm neera is manufactured in Cuddalore.
CUDDALORE:
Of the umpteen ways of beating the heat, consumption of palm neera, a wholesome and nutritious drink, is a good one. And inexpensive too.
A 200-ml sachet of neera can be bought just for Rs 4, much cheaper than a tender coconut. However, from a health perspective, neera is an ideal drink, because it contains sucrose, minerals, salts and high level of protein. Known as sweet toddy or palm nectar, neera is a coolant that provides for the livelihood of tappers and their families. The Regional Palm Products Training Centre in Cuddalore, a wing of the Tamil Nadu State Palmgur and Fibre Marketing Cooperative Federation, is manufacturing and marketing neera in sachets.
A. Dhayanidhi of the centre told The Hindu that the centre was equipped with a freezer, strainer and packing machinery. On its campus it had grown 500 palm trees which served as the source for tapping neera. However, Mr Dhayanidhi said that the centre was utilising its production capacity pragmatically, that is, it was turning out the product in keeping with the market demand. At present, the centre was packing 500 sachets of neera a day and during peak summer the output would go up considerably.
Therefore, only a limited quantity of neera is being tapped daily. He said that till two years ago, a 200-ml sachet was sold for Rs 3 but owing to a rise in wages of tappers, the sale price had been risen to Rs 4 a sachet. Soon after collecting neera in a pot coated with a thin film of calcium, it was filtered thrice and stored in the freezer before being pumped into the packing machine that turns out 40 filled sachets a minute. Calcium was added to avert fermentation of neera. The vendors selling the products from tricycles at commercial places were serving as a barometer of the demand and based on their daily feedback production was either curtailed or enhanced.
The brief shelf life of neera called for careful handling and swift marketing. If the lot of tappers, vendors and employees was to be improved, the government should infuse more working capital to increase the production capacity, open more number of outlets for marketing the product and embark upon promotional exercise. To boost the sale of neera, the vendors suggested that it be served during get-togethers, birthday parties and on important official functions such as the World Classical Tamil Conference.
