Special Report: Uptrend Likely In Turmeric Prices

MUMBAI (Commoditiescontrol) - Turmeric prices rose at major markets in the country during the week ended April 20 owing to better buying support on the back of good domestic and export demand against normal arrivals.

It is worth mentioning that this year the turmeric was cooked by boiler (cooker), hence the arrival in Nizamabad area was started 15 days before it starts every year, but this year the amount of moisture has been found more in turmeric. Besides in the market, shortage of stock is being seen, hence traders are running with the notion of firmness.

Nearly 85 percent of this year production in Nizamabad so far has come in the market. The story is same for Sangli where even around 80 percent of the produce has been sold in the market. During the week, arout 60 thousand bags of turmeric were arrived in Nizamabad, which is 20 thousand bags less than last week. In the coming days, decrease in arrivals can be seen.

At the key producing area of ​​Basmatnagar in Maharashtra, so far 2 lakh bags of turmeric have been arrived and 14 lakh bags will come in the coming days. While 75 thousand bags of turmeric have arrived in Kadapa. Overall, around 35 to 40 lakh bags of new turmeric have been arrived in the major markets of India.

According to sources, a large portion of this year produce has come in the markets and a maximum of 20 to 25 lakh bags of spice are yet to be arrived. Moreover, around 4 lakh bags in Nizamabad and 2 lakh bags in Sangli are being seen/have arrived. But, in view of the demand, the activities of the stockists in the market are expected to increase.

The maximum price of turmeric last year was Rs 8,840 per quintal, but due to lower production this year and excess demand, traders expect that it can touch the last year's high in the coming days.

This year, turmeric production is down by one million bags as compared to last year production of around 70 lakh bags (70 kgs per bag) or about 4.9 lakh tonnes, while this year's production was estimated to be around 60 lakh bags or around 4.165 million tonnes.

Rising demand in the domestic market and good enquiries for export are now supporting the business activity in the turmeric market, and in the coming days, more increase in demand can be seen. Many traders said that the people have not been aware of the stock so far but in the coming days when they will know that if the stock is not available in the market according to demand then the traders would like to stock turmeric, which can bring good demand.

For this year, the carry-forward stock of turmeric was around 22 lakh bags (approximately 1.55 lakh tonnes), but if the domestic production is added to it, the total availability of turmeric for the whole year will be around 82 lakh bags (approximately 5.75 lakh tonnes).

But in the domestic and export market this year, around 75 lakh bags (around 5.25 lakh tonnes) of turmeric is expected to be consumed, given that in the year 2019 turmeric carry-forward stock is expected to be around 7 lakh bags (around 0.5 lakh tonnes), which can create bullish environment for the long-term.

The prices are likely to witness an increase in the range of Rs 500 to Rs 700 per quintal in the coming weeks on good buying to fulfil increased demand.

After continuous interactions with traders, we (Commoditiescontrol team) have received average production figures, which are shown in the table below.