A wartime substitute
Salem’s sago began in the Second World War, when imported corn flour ran short. A local trader learnt from a man evacuated from Penang how to turn tapioca root into sago pearls, and a mechanic improved the machines. By 1957 there were about 125 units around Salem.
The seizure
Most of the sago went north, to Calcutta and beyond. In 1957 the Calcutta Corporation seized about 8,000 bags of Salem sago, suspecting it was not real sago. The news spread, buyers stopped buying, and within a month the price of a bag fell from about ₹65 to ₹20.
A doubt about quality can wipe out two-thirds of the price in a month.
Proving it
The Salem makers fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court. They showed there was little difference between their tapioca sago and the imported kind, and they won. The market came back.
From suspicion to a protected name
Sixty-six years later, in 2023, “Salem sago” received a geographical indication tag. In February 2026 the first consignment of GI-tagged Salem sago, half a tonne, left for Canada. The name once doubted in Calcutta is now protected by law.
Points for a finance reader
- Quality you can prove is worth money. Tests, standards and certificates protect the price when someone doubts you.
- Fight together. No single small unit could afford a Supreme Court case. Together they could.
- Protect the name. A GI tag turns a place name into an asset.