Due to lower arrival quality and rumors of a larger crop, turmeric prices have fallen to about 5,000 per quintal in some areas of Maharashtra. Due to significant stockpiles held by consumers and stockists, prices in other regions of the country are generally lower than they were during the same time last year. Turmeric prices are reportedly prevailing at $5,000 and less in APMC yards like Bokar, Loha, and Kandhar in Maharashtra’s Nanded district, according to statistics from the Agmarknet portal, a division of the Agriculture Ministry.
Prices in these marketplaces dominated by about 7,000 at this time last year. Prices have dropped to 5,700 in Nizamabad, Telangana, but are still averaging 6,500 in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu. Unpolished turmeric is currently trading at NCDEX Nizamabad spot rates of Rs. 6,779.45 per quintal, while polished turmeric futures for April delivery are trading at Rs. 7,744. “New arrivals are quoting between $4,400 to $5,500 per quintal because of the lower quality. Local demand is weak. Farmers claim that starting in the first week of February, the quality would improve, according to Poonam Chand Gupta, a dealer in Nizamabad.
Despite some predictions of a weaker crop, the production is good this season. Depending on the region, the yield might be either high or low. Since the area planted with crops increased quickly this year, Sunil Patil, owner of Varadlaxmi Trading Company in Sangli, Maharashtra, said that he and his team are actually speculating about what the actual production in the state may be. Compared to other regions of the nation, particularly Nizamabad, Maharashtra prices are 500–600 rupees per quintal less expensive. He added that this year’s carryover stocks were higher than those from the previous one.
Turmeric production is expected to be 13.14 lakh tonnes (lt) this year compared to 13.29 last year, according to a presentation given at the Indian Spices Conference 2023 on January 22. It said that carryover stocks were estimated to be 1.7 lt this year. “As the new harvest has started making its way to the marketplaces in Erode, Prices are falling. According to RKV Ravishankar, President of the Erode Turmeric Merchants Association in Tamil Nadu, “Demand is low, especially from curcumin producers.
