Bangla unrest hits mustard cake business in Gwalior-Chambal belt
By Anurag Singh
Bangladesh turmoil has hit the business of mustard cakes factories and thousands of workers in Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh.
Chandan Chaudhary left Bihar with his wife and children to work in one of the units in Morena district. However, with the unrest hitting business of mustard oil cake, he fears losing his job in future. “The work has slowed down and if the situation does not improve in Bangladesh soon, it would cast a shadow on our survival.”
Another worker, Ram Tirath Singh at the solvent plant said, “We earlier used to earn around Rs 700 daily, but the work has stopped for a month now. We don’t know what the future holds for us.”
A local truck driver Jabbar Singh, who has been engaged in transport of raw materials and finished products says, “My truck has been on a halt for more than two weeks. Don’t know what to do now.”
The Gwalior-Chambal region is the prime mustard cultivating base of the central Indian state. While the region is home to 50 mustard oil mills, it also houses around 150 units which produce “khali” (mustard cake/de-oiled cake). More than 50 of these units are operating in Morena district. The DOCs which are by-products of the mustard oil are largely exported to Bangladesh, where it is particularly used as poultry, fish and animal feed.
“Around 150 units are engaged in production of DOC/mustard cakes daily, producing over 3,500 tonnes in the region. Around 90% of the produce is exported to Bangladesh, but since July 20, the supply has been stopped. If the situation does not improve in Bangladesh, then not only will the mustard cake/DOC industry suffer, but newer international markets will have to be urgently searched to reduce this industry’s dependence on Bangladesh,” said Pravin Agrawal, the head of MP Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
According to sources, the losses may well be running into around `150 crore affecting the future of over 20,000 workers.
This article has been republished from The New Indian Express.