Centre notifies establishment of National Turmeric Board

NEW DELHI: The Central government on Wednesday notified the constitution of the National Turmeric Board, which will focus on the development and growth of turmeric and turmeric products in the country.

Briefing the reporters after a Union Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that India exports turmeric worth Rs 1,600 crore.

"If we talk about turmeric. We export turmeric worth Rs 1,600 crore today and now we are aiming to reach Rs 8,400 crore. To accomplish this target it is necessary to form a National Turmeric Board," he said.

According to a government release, the National Turmeric Board will provide leadership on turmeric-related matters, augment the efforts, and facilitate greater coordination with the Spices Board and other Government agencies in the development and growth of the turmeric sector.

There is significant potential and interest worldwide in the health and wellness benefits of turmeric, which the Board will leverage to further increase awareness and consumption, develop new markets internationally to increase exports, promote research and development into new products, and develop our traditional knowledge for value-added turmeric products.

It will especially focus on capacity building and skill development of turmeric growers for harnessing greater benefits out of value addition. The Board will also promote quality and food safety standards and adherence to such standards.

The Board will also take steps to further safeguard and usefully exploit turmeric's full potential for humanity, the release said. The activities of the Board will contribute towards greater well-being and prosperity of the turmeric growers through their focussed and dedicated attention to the sector and the larger value addition closer to the farms, which would provide better realisation to the growers for their produce.

The Board's activities in research, market development, increasing consumption, and value addition will also ensure that our growers and processors continue to maintain their pre-eminent position in the global markets as exporters of high-quality turmeric and turmeric products, it said.

The Board shall have a Chairperson to be appointed by the Central Government, members from the Ministry of AYUSH, Departments of Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Commerce & Industry of the Union Government, senior State Government representatives from three states (on a rotation basis), select national/state institutions involved in research, representatives of turmeric farmers and exporters, and have a Secretary to be appointed by the Department of Commerce.

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world. In the year 2022-23, an area of 3.24 lakh ha was under turmeric cultivation in India with a production of 11.61 lakh tonnes (over 75 per cent of global turmeric production). More than 30 varieties of Turmeric are grown in India and it is grown in over 20 states in the country. The largest producing states of Turmeric are Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

India has more than 62 per cent share of world trade in turmeric. During 2022-23, 1.534 lakh tonnes of turmeric and turmeric products valued at 207.45 million USD were exported by more than 380 exporters The leading export markets for Indian Turmeric are Bangladesh, UAE, USA and Malaysia. With the focused activities of the Board, it is expected that turmeric exports will reach USD 1 Billion by 2030, the release added.