Despite global clamour, TN exports take a hit

This renewed interest for turmeric among people has, however, failed to revive the fortunes of turmeric cultivators in Erode district. “The demand for raw turmeric in both domestic and export market has gone up by over 300%. Yet, farmers are unable to sell off even their fresh harvest,” said PK Deivasigamani, president of Turmeric Farmers Association of India. Turmeric is an annual crop harvested from January to April.

“Nearly about two lakh metric tonnes of freshly harvested turmeric remains stagnant in TN due to the lockdown and cancellation of flights. The auction markets in Erode district are also shut with farmers unable to sell their produce,” he added.

Another trader said that usually, around February, demand for turmeric begins to decline, but in the last week there has been an unbelievably high clamouring for raw turmeric. He spoke about getting orders of nearly four tonnes of turmeric in a single day but export of the yellow spice from India, which sometimes hovers between 78,000 and 80,000 tonne per annum, has come to grinding halt. But a few are making a killing by selling the existing stock in shops at a higher cost citing shortage.

“The government should ensure that the supply chain is not hit and consumers aren’t affected. It should procure turmeric from farmers and sell them through PDS shops across the state,” said Deivasigamani.

CM Nanjappan, a 66-year-old turmeric farmer from Gobichettipalayam is one among the hundreds of farmers waiting desperately to sell off his fresh produce. “I made a reasonable harvest of five tonnes of organic turmeric from my one acre farm but there are no buyers till now,” he said.

Farmers lamented that many may stop turmeric cultivation in the coming years as they are uncertain over what to do with this year’s produce. The indigenous variety of turmeric cultivated in Erode has been given the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tag.