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As kharif turmeric crop is expected to hit the markets in the next few weeks, the markets are saddled with a carry forward inventory of 45 lakh bags (60 kg each).
The inventory from last year is almost half of the country’s expected annual turmeric production of about 95 lakh bags.
“We estimate a production of about one lakh bags from the current season with a carry forward stock of 45 lakh bags from last year,” Premchand Motta, a Kolkata-based spices broker, told BusinessLine. “It is high time the Government persuaded farmers to reduce the turmeric acreage by at least 25-30 per cent. You need to reduce the acreage to make it viable for farmers and traders,” he said.
Telangana, AP crop
Telangana’s production, however, is expected to be hit drastically because of the last month’s heavy rains. Prolonged water-logging had damaged the crop in the turmeric belt of Nizamabad and other parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
“The rains have damaged the crop. We are expecting a loss of up to 15-20 per cent in the overall production,” S Anvesh Reddy, Telangana Kisan Congress Cell Chairman, and who organises turmeric farmers in the region, said.
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh contribute about 36 lakh bags, or one-third of the country’s production. Unabated rains in October had impacted the crop in both the States. “Annually, prices are constrained by a carry-over stock of about 30-35 lakh bags (ballpark figure). This year we have an extra 10 lakh bags and we’re likely to start with an inventory of 45 lakh bags,” Premchand said.
Inventory pile-up
“As on October 11, the country has a stock of 55 lakh bags. Even if we assume that the market consumes about 8-9 lakh bags in the remaining two months, we are still saddled with 45 lakh bags. It will be a big dampener for any uptrend,” he said.
The country, which grows the crop on about 2.50 lakh hectares, consumes about 70 lakh bags, while exports about 20 lakh bags. The turmeric prices are ruling in the range of ₹5,500-6,200 a quintal, which is far below the break-even price of ₹7,000-7,500. Unable to continue with the sluggish returns in the last four years, the farmers have demanded a price of ₹15,000 a quintal.
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