The Golden Spice, a sobriquet for turmeric, has turned pale this year with prices falling below the ₹10,000 a quintal mark, triggering farmers’ protest in the turmeric belt of the undivided Nizamabad to take to the streets.
Prices of turmeric have continued to drop over the last couple of months. Last year, prices soared to a record of over ₹20,000 a quintal. Currently, prices have fallen in the 17-27 per cent range, depending on the quality and variety. The drastic fall is forcing the farmers to resort to distress sale.
Telangana, a key turmeric hub in the country, grows the crop on about 42,000 acres and is expecting 1.25 lakh tonnes of output this year. Currently, prices are ruling in the range of ₹7,000-₹11,000 a quintal in different markets in the State.
Returns lower
Prices in Tamil Nadu, the other major turmeric hub in the country, are relatively better. Prices are in the range of ₹11,511-₹13,999 for different varieties at the Erode market. “Prices have been falling over the past month. They used to sell at over ₹15,000 last month. It fell by ₹1,000-₹2,000,” a source said.
“The bulk of it being purchased at ₹7,000-₹8,000. We are spending ₹1.50 lakh an acre but ending up getting only ₹70,000-₹1 lakh,” a farmer in Nizamabad said.
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The farmers demand that the government intervene and purchase the crop at ₹15,000 a quintal and bail them out from the crisis. Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has written a letter to Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, appealing to him to have the Nafed purchase the crop under the Market Invervention Scheme.
“Turmeric arrivals have peaked in this month. We request you to intervene at this crucial stage to stabilise prices and protect farmers from financial losses. We request you to consider giving them a Market Intervention Price based on the cost of cultivation as recommended by the Prof. Swaminathan Committee,” he said in the letter.
Price forecast
Prof. Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University (PJTSAU) has forecast a price range of ₹10,500-₹11,000 during February-April 2025.
India is the largest producer and exporter of this yellow spice. That India contributes 80 per cent of the world’s turmeric output of 11 lakh tonnes shows the dominance of the country in this commodity. Other major players are China (8 per cent), Myanmar (4 per cent), Nigeria (3 per cent) and Bangladesh (3 per cent).
India exported 1.62 lakh tonnes of turmeric in 2023-24, a decrease from the 1.70 lakh tonnes exported the previous year. The major importers of Indian turmeric include Bangladesh (37,577 tonnes), the UAE (17,316 tonnes), Malaysia (8,465 tonnes), the US (8,602 tonnes), Morocco (7,826 tonnes), and Iran (5,443 tonnes).
According to the Central Government’s 1st advance estimates, India’s total turmeric production for 2023-24 was 10.75 lakh tonnes, including 3.26 lakh tonnes from Maharashtra, 1.29 lakh tonnes from Karnataka, 1.17 lakh tonnes from Telangana, and 1.14 lakh tonnes from Tamil Nadu.
Kalvakunta Kavitha, former MP from Nizamabad, blamed the Congress Government in the State and the NDA government at the Centre for not coming to the rescue of the turmeric farmers. “Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy promised a price of ₹15,000 for turmeric during the election campaign, but they are not responding now,” she alleged.
