Turmeric farmers could possibly look at 2016 as a more remunerative year if only they are able to store and sell the produce say 2 -3 months later.

A survey of turmeric traders in Erode Regulated Market has revealed that the price of the farm produce could increase from the prevailing farm gate price of Rs 9,500 - Rs 10,000 a quintal after January 2016.

The expectation on the price front has been attributed to a supply gap consequent to a drop in production during the current season coupled with rising domestic and export demand.

“Evidence of five year cycle in turmeric price and increasing trend in commodity futures for turmeric would also support the peak price in the current and the forthcoming period,” say experts at the Back Office of Agro Marketing Intelligence and Business Promotion Centre (AMI &BPC) of Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies (CARDS), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

Turmeric at present is hovering at Rs 9,500 a quintal in Erode market, which traders admit is 47 per cent higher than the price that prevailed 12 months ago. Prices had started to increase from September 2015 and this rising trend is said improved the offtake.

Meanwhile reported damage of the standing crop due to long dry spell in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and the anticipated damage due to the prolonged wet weather conditions in Tamil Nadu, are expected to have an impact on the crop production in turmeric growing regions.

Turmeric production in Tamil Nadu in 2014-15 has been put at 2.31 million tonnes from an area of 0.46 million hectares. The major growing districts in the State are Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri and Namakkal.

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