Turmeric prices have dropped by ₹500 a quintal over the last couple of weeks on an “unexpected” slump in domestic and export demand, traders have said. “ RKV Ravishankar, President of the Erode Turmeric Merchants Association in Tamil Nadu, said, “We typically see demand before the Navratri, but it has been lacking this time.” Even the demand for exports is weak. Perhaps the selling centers are holding out-of-date stock and want to use it up first,” he suggested.
The past few weeks have been lackluster for trading in turmeric. Due to a lack of trading liquidity, the price of a quintal has decreased by 500 dollars. The demand for turmeric is low because a new crop isn’t expected for 3–4 months. Amrutlal Kataria, a dealer from Nizamabad in Telangana, claimed that the demand for exports was low. According to NCDEX data, the price of turmeric for the November contract has decreased from around $7,432 on September 16 to around 7,000 per quintal at the moment. Nizamabad turmeric prices on the spot market have dropped to 7,199.40 from 7,406.60 over the same time period.
The Erode agriculture produce marketing committee yard’s median price for the finger variety of turmeric dropped from $6,679 per quintal at the beginning of the month to $6,544 per quintal. The modal price for the finger type of turmeric at the Erode agriculture produces marketing committee yard decreased from $6,679 at the beginning of the month to $6,544 per quintal. The Ministry of Agriculture’s second advanced estimate of horticulture crops, released in July, indicated that turmeric production had increased.
According to projections, 13.31 lakh tonnes of turmeric would be produced in the crop year of 2021–2022 (June–July), up from 11.24 lakh tonnes the year before. “Processors are reluctant to sell turmeric at the going prices. They have good inventories. However, weak demand may further pressure prices, causing them to decline to about 6,000, according to Patil. Even premium turmeric shipped to Mumbai for export is priced between 6,800 and 7,000 per quintal. The superior grade Rajapuri, which is priced at 8,000 per quintal, is not comparable, he claimed.
