Kithul industry is a traditional industry of Sri Lanka dates backs to about 2000 years according to the ancient literature. At present, the industry takes care of many thousands of rural households, contributing to the Sri Lankan rural economy to a significant extent.
The Kithul industry is spread over 13 districts namely Rathnapura, Kandy, Badulla, Monaragala, Matara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya, Kalutara, Galle, Kurunegala, Matale, Hambantota and Colombo. A total of 3 million Kithul palms are located in the country where Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva province occupy the highest numbers of Kithul palms (752,000, 659,000 and 636,000 respectively).
According to the statistics, about 27% of Kithul palms are found on government owned land. At present, only about 100,000 palms are being tapped to produce treacle and jaggery. Accordingly, about 30,000 tappers are employed in the industry giving livelihood to about 3,000 families.
The industry is still functioning as a traditional industry. The traditional knowledge, particularly the tapping techniques are highly guarded as much valued secret kept within the families and handed over only to their generations.
Many families in major Kithul producing areas are still rely solely on the Kithul palm for their livelihood through selling Kithul treacle and jaggery. An approximate monthly income of Rs. 70,000 to 80,000 is possible from a successfully tapped tree during a tapping season (one inflorescence yields for about 6 to 8 months on average).
Kithul palm can be considered as an underutilize crop as it has a huge potential to explore. The demand for Kithul based products both locally and globally are on the rise due to the unique taste and aroma of the products and more specifically due to the claimed health benefits of Kithul treacle and jaggery.