Farmers moving away from turmeric, says report
India faces challenges like rejection of spices by importing countries, high price fluctuations and declining area impede further growth of turmeric despite over 62 per cent share in the global trade, according to a study by ICRIER. The government needs to have targeted interventions to stabilise turmeric production and empower farmers to achieve its goal of $ 1 billion in turmeric exports by 2030, it said.
As the study outlines strategies to strengthen India’s position as a global turmeric producer and exporter, the National Turmeric Board can ensure quality standards, traceability and streamline certification and testing processes, ICRIER Director Deepak Mishra said after unveiling the report.
The Centre on January 14 launched the National Turmeric Board in Telangana’s Nizamabad while the ICRIER report, in partnership with Amway India, was released on Wednesday in New Delhi.
“Despite holding a commanding share exceeding 62 per cent of global turmeric trade, India faces challenges that impede further growth, ranging from the rejection of spices in key export markets to price fluctuations leading to farmers withdrawing from the cultivation of turmeric to not meeting the desired curcumin levels required by companies,” the report said.
As the authors of the report conducted a survey of turmeric farmers, they found that there was a decline in turmeric cultivation in the last three years. Farmers have attributed several factors such as sudden fall in prices, inadequate infrastructure, unfavourable weather conditions, pest infestations, inability to connect to the right buyers and soil fertility for the decline in area.
“We are only able to supply 10 per cent of turmeric products with the high curcumin content required by global clients. Although domestic turmeric may align with international standards such as the CODEX Alimentarius, it is low on curcumin (2 per cent), which does not meet the global demand for turmeric varieties of high curcumin content (5 per cent or more),” the repprt said and pointed out that India does not have mutual recognition agreements with key markets for processed organic produced.
Once the domestic quality and standards are in order, signing mutual recognition agreements for standards and certification for both fresh and processed turmeric with key export markets can reduce the compliance burden and enhance trade, ICRIER said in a statement.
Suggesting that subsidies should be linked to help develop high-end product value chains, the report said that there can be subsidies for third-party certification, cultivation of high curcumin varieties, research and development (R&D) for value-added turmeric products and for promoting GI products.
Investments in post-harvest infrastructure, scaling up turmeric FPOs and fostering knowledge sharing through R&D and global collaborations are crucial for maintaining competitiveness, it said.
The report recommended promoting high-curcumin varieties and leveraging international platforms to solidify India’s position as a leading turmeric exporter.
“By aligning production practices with international benchmarks and fostering a collaborative ecosystem, India can solidify its position as a reliable and preferred supplier of high-quality turmeric in the global market,” the report said.
India’s current turmeric cultivation area spans 297,000 hectares with annual production at 10.4 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.
Amway India Managing Director Rajneesh Chopra said the report’s approach of linking food security with nutrition security and promoting turmeric as a nutraceutical could help achieve the government’s vision of making India a global turmeric hub.