Turmeric prices down 9 per cent

The sale of turmeric in Erode market, one of the major turmeric markets in the country after Sagli in Maharashtra, decreased by 30 per cent during in 2013.
Erode was noted for its turmeric production and sales. But for the past few years many places in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Assam started trading turmeric resulting in decline in the trade of the product, R K V Ravishankar, President, Erode Turmeric Merchants Association said.
Of the arrival of 15 lakh bags of turmeric, only 10 lakh bags (each bag contains 65 kilogram turmeric) were sold in the year.
Normally 17 to 18 lakh bags would in an year, he said.

He said at current price of the yellow spice was Rs 5,800 to Rs 5,900 a quintal of general finger variety and Rs 6,000 to Rs 6,200 a quintal of hybrid finger variety turmeric.
The root variety was sold at Rs 5,500 a quintal and the hybrid root variety at Rs 5,700 a quintal.
Ravishankar said traders were expecting the increase in price after 'Sankaranthi' (Pongal).