Turmeric damaged due to rainfall

Currently, 60% of the total turmeric arrivals on the spot market of Andhra Pradesh is damaged due rainfall in the fag end of the monsoon season.

Stock which was not stored in the cold storage is currently damaged and traders and stockists are currently looking at getting rid of that stock.

Average daily arrivals of turmeric all over the country is around 17,000 bags( 1 bag =75 kilograms).

The remaining 40% of the stock that is arriving on spot markets is of medium quality.

Demand is weak but is expected to revive in the coming days as festive demand is expected to pour in for the spice.

Carry over stock this year is expected to be around 50 lakh bags.

This year, the area under turmeric is also lower compared to last year by 45%. The total area under turmeric is estimated to be around 45,000 hectares compared to 81,000 ha last year.

Sowing of turmeric starts in the month of June and goes on till mid August, and is harvested in the month of January.

But, this year due to the delay in sowing of the spice harvesting of the crop will also be delayed by two months and fresh arrivals will hit the market only by March next year.

“In the last one month, turmeric prices have moved down by Rs 10 to RS 55 per kilogram, but is expected to move up in the next fortnight as festival demand wills tart to pour in,” said Manubhai Shah, a Navi Mumbai based turmeric trader.