Spot turmeric sales here have dropped despite prices falling to Rs 5,800-6,200 a quintal, as traders are buying from Nizamabad, where prices are even lower.

“Usually, when prices are low, arrival goes down but buying continues at these low prices. But now, arrival has decreased and sales have also gone down. Prices have been stable at Rs 5,800-6,200 a quintal for the past 45 days. Erode auction centres have never faced such a situation before,” said Erode Turmeric Merchants Association President R.K.V. Ravishankar.

He said for the past 10 days, farmers have brought only 2,500-3,000 bags though they have huge stock, as they are reluctant to sell at Rs 6,000 a quintal and expect prices to rise to Rs 10,000 in the last quarter of the year.

Traders said they were buying turmeric at Rs 4,500-5,500 a quintal from Nizamabad for local requirement. They are expecting upcountry orders in the first week of March, when they will increase purchases.

At the Erode Turmeric Merchants Association, the finger variety (new crop) was sold at Rs 4,819-6,279 a quintal, the root variety at Rs 4,416-5,569. The old crop finger variety was sold at Rs 4,605-6,409, the root variety at Rs 4,299-5,789.

Salem hybrid crop: The finger variety fetched Rs 6,009-6,909, the root variety Rs 5,650-5,925. Of the 2,710 bags that arrived, only 547 were sold.

At the Regulated Market Committee, the finger variety was sold at Rs 5,579-6,409, the root variety at Rs 5,465-5,789. Of the 249 bags that arrived, 216 were sold.

At the Erode Cooperative Marketing Society, the finger variety was sold at Rs 5,329-6,391, the root variety at Rs 4,800-5,859. Of the 494 bags that arrived, 462 were sold.

At the Gobichettipalayam Agricultural Marketing Society, the finger variety was sold at Rs 5,247-6,219, the root variety at Rs 4,950-6,062. All the 84 bags kept for sale were sold.

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