PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY TURMERIC PRICE CRASH, DEMAND SUPPLY MISMATCH

LUDHIANA, FEBRUARY 28:-----



India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world. The country accounts for about 80 % of world turmeric production and 60 % of export. Pakistan, China, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru, Taiwan and Thailand produce the rest of the turmeric. Gulf countries and the USA are the main importers of Indian turmeric. This was shared by Dr. J.S.Sidhu, Incharge, Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre (AMIC) at Punjab Agricultural University, adding that Andhra Pradesh is a leader in turmeric area and production with 40 % and 60 % respectively followed by Orissa and Tamil Nadu with 17 % and 13 % area and 12 % and 13 % production, respectively.



The lucrative prices of turmeric during 2010 which jumped to Rs. 17,000 per quintal induced the farmers of the turmeric producing states to increase the area under turmeric by about 25 % which led to unprecedented demand for turmeric seed and hence price, said Dr. Sidhu. Many farmers spent even more than one lakh per hectare for turmeric seed alone. The production which was 48 lakh bags of 100 kg in 2009-10 increased to 70 lakh bags during 2010-11. The total demand of turmeric is about 35 lakh bags of 100 kg each. The gap between demand and supply during last years increased the carry over stock from 7 lakh bags to 11 lakh bags of 100 kg each during the same period. Consequently, the prices of turmeric slumped to Rs. 4000 per quintal. The farmers stand to incur lose heavily at this price, remarked Dr. Sidhu.



Discussing about Punjab scenario, Dr. Sidhu highlighted that the farmers in Punjab were also tempted to start growing turmeric due to its high returns. The area under turmeric in the state increased to about 3200 hectares with estimated production of about 16,000 tonnes. There is disappointment among the turmeric growers in Punjab due to crash in its prices, he remarked. The AMIC of PAU, Ludhiana is of the view that at the present level of production the turmeric is not a viable enterprise and the growers should take into consideration the demand of turmeric in the country and reduce the area under turmeric at least by half in the coming year to get remunerative prices.


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