Jeera prices halve after sowing increases on 2023 hopes, shows data

The price of kitchen essential jeera (cumin seeds) has almost halved from a high of about Rs 61,000 per quintal in September 2023 to about Rs 31,000 per quintal in January this year. Experts are saying the slump could be due to expectations of a bumper crop this year. Farmers had sown the crop in a larger area after prices hit multi-year highs last year. Sowing in the two major jeera-growing states of Gujarat and Rajasthan crossed last year's level till December-end even as sowing continues. Meanwhile, exports of the crop have dropped sharply — after rising in the financial year's first two months — as producers witnessed a higher price in the domestic market.