Turmeric prices set to fall as first harvest expected in Feb.

Prices of turmeric are expected to come down from their current astronomical levels by at least mid-February as local growers are expected to release their first batch of harvest into the market, which could meet at least 75 percent of the national requirement. 

The harvest is expected to hit 4,000 metric tonnes.

According to the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) data, turmeric powder, an often-used spice in every Sri Lankan kitchen, was selling at a retail price of Rs.2, 900 a kilogram in the Colombo district last week. 

This is roughly five times the amount of Rs.659 a kilogram in December 2019. 

Sri Lanka banned the importation of turmeric in the middle of the pandemic last year, in a bid to lure local farmers into cultivating the popular spice. 

The import ban quickly created a shortage of turmeric in the local market and prices reached an astronomical high of Rs.4,500 a kilogram by the fourth week of September, the data compiled weekly by the DCS showed. 

The import ban created an oasis for unscrupulous traders to smuggle in turmeric from India and there were many cases of nabbing such stocks by the authorities.  

The import ban also created an opportunity for certain traders to release various types of alternatives to turmeric and some engaged in releasing substandard turmeric into the market. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Export Agriculture has requested farmers not to harvest the crop before the peak harvesting season in late January to early February as early harvesting leads to less powder in turmeric and results in lower earnings for them.

Gullible farmers could fall for the coaxing of unscrupulous traders to release the scarce crop into the market prematurely, and end up losing, which could in turn discourage them continuing to cultivate the crop.

Hence farmer education is a sine-qua-non in Sri Lanka and the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Export Agriculture are currently doing an excellent job in that regard.