Tamil Nadu Palm Products Development Board is functioning with Headquarters at Chennai. The Board’s main objective is to provide an institutionalized support to palm products development and to provide Co-operative platform for the sustenance of palm product industry, thereby promoting the welfare of the palmgur artisans.

Under the control of Tamil Nadu Palm Products Development Board, 720 Primary Jaggery Manufacturing Co-operative Societies, eight District Palmgur Co-operative Federations and one State level Tamil Nadu State Palmgur and Fibre Marketing Co-operative Federation are functioning. They are directly engaged in the production and sales of palm products.

Primary palm product is Neera. It is the main raw material for the production of a chain of other edible palm products like palm jaggery (Karuppatti), palm candy, palm sugar, palm candy toffee, palm halwa, palm chocolate. Neera drink is very popular and much sought for during tapping seasons in the areas, where palm trees are available.

The palm fibre brushes, palm leaves fans, mats, baskets, palm stalk fibres, toys, different kinds of plain and coloured handicraft items are the non edible palm products which are designed by palmgur artisans.

The Government has ordered that tapping and selling of Neera have to be carried out only with proper license to prevent the misuse of Neera. As per this order, the license to the palm tappers is renewed for every financial year by the Tamil Nadu Palm Products Development Board.

Licenses have been given to 9972 palmgur artisans by the Assistant Directors of Khadi and Village Industries of the concerned districts in the financial year of 2020-2021.