Spot turmeric falls on lack of demand

Spot turmeric prices decreased by Rs 400 a quintal on Tuesday on lack of demand from other States.

“There is no upcountry demand for the spot turmeric in Erode, so the price has decreased by another Rs 400 a quintal,” said Mr R.K.V. Ravishankar, President, Erode Turmeric Merchants' Association. Because of the continuous decrease in price, the turmeric grower farmers were unhappy and frustrated to sell their produce at low price.

He also added that in Regulated Marketing Committee, there is a dip of Rs 600 a quintal on Tuesday. Totally in two days, Rs 1,000 a quintal was decreased. Because of such decrease, he suspected that farmers will not bring huge stock from tomorrow. On Tuesday, 15,000 bags were arrived for sale, but only 40 per cent of the goods were sold.

“The price in other centres like Nizamabad and Sangli are Rs 1,000 a quintal less than Erode. So the North Indian merchants preferring the North Indian products and placing huge orders for the crop there. So the sales and demand were too low here, which causes the decrease in price of spot turmeric.”

He said, “The buyers in North India also gaining, as transport charges from Sangli or Nizamabad to their places are lower than at Erode. They have to pay minimum Rs 100 more a quintal for transport charges for Erode turmeric. All such things are the reason for decreasing trend of the turmeric. The sale of turmeric also decreasing day by day, so the stock accumulation with farmers is on the increase.

The prices of both varieties were not steady for the past few days, so farmers refused to sell the produce. They are ready to keep any quantity of turmeric. If the prices improves to Rs 9,500 a quintal, immediately they will sell the same, said farmers.

At the Erode Turmeric Merchants Association Sales Yard, finger variety was sold at Rs 6,534 to Rs 8,691 a quintal, root variety Rs 6,384 to Rs 8,209.

Salem Crop: Finger variety fetched Rs 8,686 to Rs 9,709 a quintal, root variety Rs 7,889 to Rs 8,637 a quintal. Of total arrival of 5,691 bags, only 450 bags were sold.

At the Gobichettipalatam Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Society, finger variety was sold at Rs 7,027 to Rs 9,060 a quintal, root variety Rs 6,527 to Rs 8,117. Of 240 bags kept ready for sale, 235 bags were sold.

At the Erode Cooperative Marketing Society, finger variety was sold at Rs 7,779 to Rs 8,991 a quintal, root variety Rs 6,968 to Rs 7,793. Out of arrival of 1,411 bags, 1,086 bags were sold.

At the Regulated marketing Committee, finger variety was sold at Rs 8,023 to Rs 8,695 a quintal, root variety Rs 7,011 to Rs 7,791. Of 1,099 bags arrived for sale, only 783 bags were sold.

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