Thiruvananthapuram: The sweet brew seems to be on its way to be the official totemic drink of Kerala tourism. Low-alcohol toddy may soon make an appearance on the restaurant menus of star hotels in Kerala if the state government approves an official report under its perusal.
The Kerala State Coconut Development Corporation Limited moots sweet toddy as the state’s answer to Goa’s feni or Sri Lanka’s coconut arrack. A report submitted by former corporation head Biju Prabhakar says that the marketing of toddy would ensure better income for coconut farmers and steady employment for toddy tappers.
The government may incorporate the recommendation when it forms its excise policy. The sweet brew with alcohol content between 2 to 4 percent goes along fine with the long-term official goal of general abstinence.
The state government-appointed Udayabhanu commission had earlier recommended the promotion of sweet toddy for its health benefits and universal appeal.
The coconut development corporation wants to entrust the production of sweet toddy to a company comprising coconut farmers and toddy tappers and to market the brew directly with permission from the Food Safety Department.
A farmer who owns 10 coconut trees can earn up to Rs 7,500 a month and a toddy tapper who climbs up 20 trees a day can earn up to Rs 25,000 a month, the report points out.
The marketing of sweet toddy will be limited to the beer parlors run by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation initially before making it available through the star-rated hotels.
The coconut development corporation has requested the government for permission to start a toddy parlor in the government-owned Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. The corporation plans to source 10,000 liters of sweet toddy from Palakkad district for the pilot project.
The corporation wants to be able to sell toddy in cans like the KTDC is allowed to do under the Abkari Act.
