ERODE: TURMERIC farmers in Erode are laughing their way to the bank as procurement price has increased by nearly three times this year, due to poor supply. According to sources, several farmers shifted to cultivating other crop as they got only around Rs 5,000-6000 per quintal last year. The resultant fall in production and demand-supply gap has pushed the price up to Rs 15,000 per quintal.
Erode is the turmeric hub of Tamil Nadu, with an average annual production of 22 tonnes. Apart from local production, turmeric is brought to Erode from other districts and states. Daily auction is held daily at Agricultural Producers Cooperative Marketing Societies at Gobichettipalayam and Karungalpalayam, regulated market at Perundurai and in the market owned by Erode Turmeric Merchants and Godown Owners’ Association. The harvest/procurement season is from January to June, but has been delayed by a month this year.
M Sathyamurthy, secretary of the Erode turmeric merchants and godown owners association, said, “The procurement price went up right at the start of the season. Currently the price of fresh turmeric is Rs 16,400 per quintal. A week ago, it was Rs 15,000. The price for old turmeric is around Rs 14,500. There’s no denying that it’s a good price. Turmeric worth Rs 1 -3 crore is traded daily. “
He added, “This was not the case last year. Right from the beginning, the procurement price was around Rs 5000-Rs 6000 per quintal. Upset by the low price, several farmers reduced cultivation area and many shifted to other crops. Due to poor supply, prices started to rise. In December, it went up to Rs 13,000 per quintal. The trend is continuing and prices are high as the supply cannot match demand. I believe the price is unlikely to drop significantly this year. However, there could be some marginal fluctuations as more turmeric arrives in the market.”
KR Sudhanthirarasu, a farmer and president of Tamil Nadu small and micro-farmers association, said, “Turmeric harvest has started and will continue till May. It is good to see farmers getting good returns.”
Officials in the horticulture department said, “In 2022-2023, turmeric was cultivated in 4694.435 ha in Erode district. In 2023-2024, it reduced to 3742.7 hec. The reason is because the procurement price was low. Now that price has gone up, we expect more farmers to start cultivating turmeric again. We are preparing for it.”