Farmers happy over rise in turmeric price

Turmeric farmers in Erode district are gearing up for turmeric cultivation in next March as the price of turmeric has gone up. 

 Turmeric is cultivated in 1.60 lakh acres in Tamil Nadu. More than 30 percent of it is cultivated in Erode district. The total production of turmeric in the country is around 35 to 40 lakh bags (one bag is 65 kg). About 7 lakh bags of turmeric are produced in Tamil Nadu alone. Of this, about 2 lakh bags were produced in the district. 

Major turmeric markets were in Nizamabad  in Telangana, Sangli in Maharashtra and Erode in Tamil Nadu. Turmeric grown in Erode district in Tamil Nadu has the highest amount of 3 to 5 percent curcumin. Indian turmeric market is a market that controls the price situation as all color yellow varieties including golden color, yellow color, light golden color are available in Erode

   The area under turmeric cultivation in Tamil Nadu started to decrease due to lack of water, low yield and insufficient price. Turmeric cultivation in Erode district declined from 8,912 hectares in 2015 to 2,966 hectares in 2016. Turmeric cultivation increased to 8,988 hectares in 2017, 5,625 hectares in 2018, 4,319 hectares in 2019 and around 3,500 to 4,000 hectares in 2020, 2021, 2022. 

 The area was  reduced to 2,000 ha in  2023. due to fall in prices. In the last 12 years average price was Rs. 5,000-6,000. Due to this the farmers were not able to recover even the cost of cultivation.

 From  Tamil Nadu,  turmeric is sent to New Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra and exported to Singapore, Malaysia and Arab countries. Currently Maharashtra and Andhra states are fulfilling their requirement.    Turmeric cultivation has been continuously increasing in the last 10 years in the areas of Maharashtra state such as Sangli, Nanded, Pokar, Hingoli which are bordering Telangana state. The reason for this is the improvement of water resources for agriculture in the area. 

  Over the past 10 years, the import of turmeric from China and Myanmar has decreased and the supply of turmeric from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh is sufficient to meet the Indian market. Due to fall in prices, cultivation was decreasing in TN and turmeric farmers were stockpiling on the hope of rising prices.

 After the last 12 years in the Erode market, the price of turmeric  in July rose to Rs 10,000 per quintal. Now the price rose to  Rs.13,000. Due to heavy rains in Maharashtra last year, the yield of turmeric and cultivated area decreased. So,  the price of turmeric in Erode market has increased this year and expected to further ride next year. Hence, it is hoped that many ryots would opt turmeric cultivation in March next year.