Rains, floods to inflate turmeric prices

Turmeric prices are expected to rise by Rs 300 a quintal as about 38 lakh kg of the crop has been damaged in Sangli (Maharashtra) owing to heavy rains and floods in the field.

In his visit to Sangli on Sunday, Prathamrao Kadam, agriculture minister of Maharashtra, invited traders and farmers of the region to brief him about the damage.

The traders are expected to meet the minister on Tuesday and brief him about the demand and supply situation.

About 20 per cent less yield is expected this year owing to water logging in several parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, said Uttambhai Shah, a leading trader.

Maharashtra contributes about 20 per cent turmeric supply, while Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu account for the rest.

Shah said the crop in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh was also damaged on account of heavy rains. Traders foresee a capacity crunch this year as sowing in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu has slowed down, Uttambhai added.

"We have hardly four months in hand to make money as much as possible. And no traders would let the opportunity go without making money," he said.

Contrasting his views, Manubhai Shah, a trader from Mumbai and secretary to The Bombay Kirana Colour and Chemical Merchants Association said "there was no supply from producing centres to selling centres in the three months period ending August due to flood and rains at the production centres. Secondly, traders of selling centres, including exporters went on selling and exporting respectively, thereby, creating a scarcity of turmeric in the market. Assuming bumper crop all around this year, exporters shipped more than their projected quota this year. Therefore, the market is in short supply today. But, supply has already resumed and will be covered by September end."

"It's true that approximately 40,000 tonne of turmeric is damaged at Haripur near Sangli, one of the main storing centre. Still, price would not go up further as it has already reached the peak" he added.

"We have enough stocks and supply from other centres has also started, therefore, turmeric price will certainly decline by Re 1 - Rs 1.50 per kg by the end of next week," he said.

He said India's total production of turmeric was expected to touch 47 lakh bags (1 bag = 75 kgs) this year. "We are also expecting 5 lakh bags to carry forward from the last year's stock. Hence, the total availability of turmeric would be in the range of 52 lakh bags.

"Against that, the total consumption is about 42 lakh bags. Therefore, we will have approximately 10 lakh bags extra turmeric this year", Manubhai said.

"We export 45,000 tonne of turmeric every year but because of good quality and low rates we have been successful in beating China and Myanmar-the two competing countries" he said.