No cheer for turmeric cultivators in Tamil Nadu

COIMBATORE: Turmeric farmers in Erode, a major producer in India, are in despair over unremunerative prices for their produce.

“After more than a decade, turmeric reached a reasonable price of Rs 17,000 per quintal last year. Until then, its cost hovered around Rs 6,500, forcing many farmers to shun turmeric cultivation. It was last sold for Rs 17,000 per quintal in the year 2011,” said D Venkateswaran, chairman of Uzhavan Producer Company Ltd.

Soon after a surge in turmeric prices, the cultivators hoped for a revival of their fortunes, and many got into its cultivation.

“However, a drastic drop in prices has dashed their hopes as once again the turmeric prices fell to a meagre 13,000 per quintal over the last six months. Prices may fall further, with the start of the harvest season from March next year due to improved arrivals,” say turmeric farmers.

Bulk arrivals from Maharashtra and Telangana, which enjoy a significant cost advantage in production, due to cheap labour, low pesticide cost, and availability of water resources, have also kept turmeric prices low.

With a production cost of turmeric at Rs 7,500 per quintal, the farmers claimed that the current prices are hardly sufficient to earn a livelihood. To overcome the crisis, the farmers have been demanding that the state and central governments fix a minimum support price (MSP) for the yellow spice.

“An MSP of not less than Rs 20,000 should be fixed per quintal of turmeric. In 2012, farmers were demanding an MSP of Rs 10,000 per quintal,” said CM Nanjappan, state secretary of Turmeric Farmers Association of India.

He further said that more farmers have recently resumed cultivation of turmeric, expecting a better price. However, a likely surge in its yield in the current harvest season to commence in March next year may send turmeric prices further downward, once again. The area of cultivation has increased considerably over the year, resulting in high prices for the yellow spice.

Nevertheless, the organic turmeric fetches a better price by around 30 to 50 per cent in the market.

“There is also a growing awareness among farmers to take up organic cultivation of turmeric. An effort is being made to make it sustainable as production of organic turmeric is costlier by 20 per cent than the regular ones. Also, demand for organic varieties of turmeric is higher in countries abroad,” said V Muniappan, an organic farmer.

Some 15 years ago, India produced almost 90 per cent of the world’s turmeric, of which Tamil Nadu accounted for around 22 per cent of the total annual production.

“Of late, the country’s share in turmeric production has come down to 70 to 80 per cent, as other countries like Vietnam and Cambodia have also begun cultivation. And, the state’s share in the nation’s total turmeric production also reduced to around 13 per cent,” say farmers.