Turmeric

Marketing

Marketing Grading Packing And Packaging Quality Control Export

Marketing

  • Marketing is a series of events that take place as the product moves to its consumer destination.
  • For each commodity, the various agencies arrange in particular ways to accomplish the movement of a product to final consumer. These arrangements make up what is known as "marketing channel".
  • Marketing channel is defined as a path traced in the direct or indirect transfer of title of a product as it moves from the producer to ultimate consumer.

Domestic Trade

  • The producer (i.e) farmer who cultivates turmeric has three options to market his produce viz., through commission agents, through regulated market and through co-operative marketing society.

Commission agents

  • The commission agents for turmeric are operating in Erode, Salem and Karur.
  • The farmer himself has to transport his produce after preparation to the town market.
  • He packs the produce in gunny bags and takes to the commission agent's premises.
  • In this case, the farmer has to incur expenditure on cost of gunny bags, loading and unloading charges, market fee, commission and other incidental expenses.
  • Commission agent provides facilities to the farmer to sell his produce and he receives commission from the farmer for his service.
  • Many times, the commission agent advances money to farmer both for production and consumption purposes.
  • In this case, it is obligatory on the part of the farmer to sell his produce through the commission agent from whom he received advance.
  • Long time relationship between the farmer and commission agent may also make the farmer to sell the produce through him.

Regulated Market

  • It is also a facilitative organization.
  • It is governed by the bye-laws of Marketing Committee and controlled by State Department of Agricultural Marketing.
  • Its main objective is to eliminate the middlemen for the benefit of the farmer.
  • The farmer need not pay any fee to the regulated market.
  • The regulated market provides correct weighment to the farmer's produce through licensed weighman and it also facilitates grading and storing.
  • The participating traders have to pay license fee and transaction fee to the regulated market.
  • Both farmer and trader are benefitted from the regulated market.
  • Sale is through secret tender system whereas open auction system is followed in private commission mundy and co-operative marketing society.

Co-operative marketing society

  • It is a voluntary facilitative organization, which works on the basis of
  • Co-operative principles.
  • The farmer has to pay membership fees to the society apart from marketing expenses incurred by him when he sells through the commission agent.
  • The society acts as an intermediary agent and receives less commission from the farmer as compared to commission agent.
  • It provides facilities for grading, storing, correct weighments and sale of the produce.
  • It encourages saving, thrift and enhances the bargaining power of the farmer.
  • Sometimes the co-operatives link credit with marketing.

Primary whole sale dealer

  • The second link between the producers and buyers is the primary whole sale dealer who purchases turmeric from any source viz., commission agent, regulated market and co-operative marketing society.
  • He incurs loading and unloading and transport costs and earns margin for his services.
  • Primary whole sale dealers are located at Erode and Salem.

Secondary whole sale dealer

  • The third link between the producer and consumer is the secondary whole sale dealer.
  • He purchases his requirements from the primary whole sale dealers.
  • Secondary whole sale traders are located throughout the state.
  • They undertake processing in powdering.
  • After packing into different sizes, it is sold to retailers.
  • He also earns profit on selling the produce to retailers.

Retailers

  • Retailers is the last link in the chain.
  • He purchases from the secondary wholesale dealer incurring costs for loading and transport charges.
  • Finally, he sells to the consumer and earns profit for his service.

Turmeric trade

  • Tamil Nadu has two trade varieties in turmeric viz., Erode and Salem but both of them are known as Erode variety at the National level.
  • There are four important market centres viz., Erode, Coimbatore, Salem and Karur for turmeric.
  • A major portion of the produce (80 per cent of Tamil Nadu's production) is sold in Erode centre and the arrivals at other markets are limited as such.
  • There are no village merchants and more than 70 per cent of the produce was sold through the commission agents only.
  • The establishment of Regulated markets and Co-operative marketing societies have attracted a maximum arrival of 20.6 per cent only
  • The marketing cost for the farmer was Rs. 30/- Rs. 23 and Rs. 5/- per quintal respectively when sale was effected through commission agent, co-operative marketing society and regulated market.
  • Tamil Nadu co-operative marketing federation (TANFED) and Central Ware housing Corporation played a very limited role in turmeric trade.
  • The whole salers are of two types viz.,
  • those selling in Tamil Nadu and Southern States.
  • those selling in Northern States.
  • Trading within Tamil Nadu takes place with finger and bulbs, as well as turmeric powder, through the whole salers and whole saler cum processors.
  • The whole salers were selling their products either directly or through commission agents in important cities of Karnataka and Kerala.
  • Bangalore, Cochin, Trivandrum, Changanacherry and Kayangulam are important business centres for turmeric traders of Tamil Nadu.
  • More than 90 per cent of turmeric produced in Tamil Nadu was sold in Northern States particularly Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi.
  • The arrivals of turmeric start from Pongal festival (in the mid-January) and goes on increasing upto April. Minimum arrivals was in December.
  • The lowest price was witnessed during March whereas the highest was in September. From August to December, the prices remained to be high.

Erode market

  • Erode market is one of the biggest turmeric markets in India.
  • About 90 per cent of turmeric produced by the farmers is marketed and 10 per cent is retained for seed and other purposes.
  • At present, due to awareness by the farmers, 53 per cent of turmeric is sold through Regulated market whereas commission agents, Co-operative marketing societies and others purchase 30, 15 and two per cent respectively.
  • Fifty eight per cent of turmeric is processed before sale.
  • Turmeric is processed by traders (40%), whole salers (30%), processors (20%) and farmers (10%).
  • Turmeric is polished in the farmer level processing and it is made into powder by trader level processing.
  • The farmers in general boil the harvested tubers and fingers themselves and subject them for polishing.
  • Normally for polishing, the farmers hire the polishers at their farms and polish their turmeric before bringing for sale to the premises of the Regulated markets.
  • However, sizable quantities of turmeric are marketed in unpolished form.
  • Installation of one turmeric polisher at the premises of the Erode Regulated market was found useful and feasible.
  • The mean annual arrival of turmeric during six year period of 1990-91 to 1995-96 in the Erode Market Committee was 41,660 tonnes.

Marketing price of turmeric

  • Fingers are sold at higher price than bulbs.
  • There is considerable increase in the turmeric price in December over November.
  • There is no perceptible difference in turmeric price among three turmeric markets viz., Erode, Coimbatore and Salem.

Top

Grading

  • The grading is based on recognised commercial type fingers/rounds, external appearance, maturity and hardness, colour of core, pungency and aroma, moisture and percentage of low or inferior bulbs/fingers and foreign matter.
  • Indian standard specifications are available for turmeric (IS: 3576: 1966).
  • There are about 16 regional varieties in trade.
  • Agmark grades have also been framed for turmeric fingers, bulbs and powder separately for both export and internal trades.

Indian specifications for turmeric grades

Grade designation Pieces max. wt. % Foreign matter max. wt. % Defective max. wt. % Bulbs max. wt. % Characteristics
Fingers (general)
Special 2.0 1.0 0.5 2.0 Finger like shape, breaks with a metallic twang well set and close grained be perfectly dry: free from damage from weevils, over boiling, etc.
Good 3.0 1.5 1.0 3.0  
Fair 5.0 2.0 1.5 5.0  
Fingers (Alleppey)
Good 5.0 1.0 3.0 4.0 As above
Fair 7.0 1.5 5.0 5.0  
Bulbs (Rounds)
Special - 1.0 1.0 - -
Good - 1.5 3.0 - -
Fair - 2.0 5.0 - -

  • Note: In both fingers and bulbs, a grade denoted "Non-specified" is provided to cover product not covered by other grades and exported only against firm agreement and orders.

Quality aspects

Dried turmeric contains

Particulars
Per cent
Curcumin 3
Fat 9
Protein
8
Carbohydrates 63
Volatile Oil 3
Fibre 7

  • Yellow colour of turmeric is due to the orange yellow pigment, curcumin.
  • The bulbs are found richer in curcumin, volatile oil and oleoresins than the fingers.
  • The curcumin content is more in Alleppey variety.

Turmeric oil and oleoresin

  • The volatile oil obtained by distillation of ground turmeric over 8-10 hours is pale yellow to orange yellow in colour and it contains 80 per cent of high boiling serquiterpene derivatives.
  • The aroma of the oil is due to turmerone and ar-turmerone.
  • The turmeric oleoresin, which is obtained by solvent extraction, is highly valued. Curcumin forms about one third of the oleoresin.

Quality of turmeric

  • To assess the quality of turmeric produced at the growers level, the Quality Evaluation and Upgradation Laboratory of Spices Board conducted a detailed survey by collecting turmeric samples at growers level during harvesting season in 1991 in Erode, Salem and Karur regions in Tamil Nadu.
  • The samples collected were analysed for the presence of physical, chemical and microbial contaminants.
  • Limits of contaminants in turmeric permitted under ASTA (American Spice Trade Association) Cleanliness Specifications with effect from 5.6.1996 are given below.

Contaminants
Limit permitted by ASTA
Extraneous/foreign matter (% by wt.) 0.5
Whole insects dead (by count No./lb) 3.0
Excreta (g/lb)  
Mammalian 5.0
Other 5.0
Insect defiled/infested (% by weight) 2.5
Mould (% by weight) 3.0

Extraneous matter

  • The extraneous matter exceeded tolerance limit (0.5%) in 22 per cent of the samples (containing extraneous matter to the tune of 0.002 to 9.02% by weight).
  • It highlights the need for adoption of scientific post harvest operations by the turmeric farmers.
  • The major contaminant was stones. Other items observed are plant parts of turmeric and other plants, hair, feather, country twine, sand, soil, paper pieces, etc.
  • The major quality problem observed by the importers in turmeric is the presence of stones and other extraneous matter.

Presence of small pieces, chura and defective bulbs

  • In Agmark Grade specifications, pieces less than 15 mm in length can vary from 2 to 7 per cent depending on the grade.
  • The survey samples contained pieces less than 15 mm ranging from 0.27 to 17.11 per cent by weight and the percentage incidence was 69.
  • Chura and defective, hollow and porous bulbs, cut bulbs and other types were found to be 80 per cent.
  • The above two factors indicate the lack of proper cleaning or grading at the growers level.

Insect dead/live

  • The number of insects above tolerance limit (3 nos of dead/live insects per pound) was found to be 9.8 per cent.

Insect infestation

  • The insect infestation was 12 per cent and the samples above the tolerance limits (2.5% by weight) varied from 10 to 20 per cent.

Mammalian excreta

  • Incidence of lumps of mammalian excreta weighing upto 1175 mg/lb has been observed.
  • The per cent incidence was 5.88 and all the samples containing mammalian excreta were found to be above the tolerance limit (5 mg/lb).

Moisture and mould

  • Neither ASTA nor Agmark have laid down any specifications for the presence of moisture in turmeric.
  • The percentage of moisture in samples collected from Tamil Nadu varied from 6.25 to 15 per cent.
  • There is a direct correlation between the presence of moisture and mould.
  • It was observed that the turmeric with moisture content above 10 per cent was found to get infested with mould.
  • If the turmeric is infested by mould, especially Aspergillus flavus, the secondary metabolite by-product aflatoxin gets into the produce. This is highly objectionable in any agricultural product and this may cause a major threat to the export of turmeric.
  • The limits prescribed by Germany for the presence of alfatoxin B1 + B2 + G1 + G2 is 4 ppb and that of Japan is 10 ppb.
  • Care should be taken to dry the turmeric below 10 per cent moisture in order to prevent the mould growth especially below the tolerance limit (3%).

Microbial contamination

  • The microbial analysis of the samples shows that the total viable count (TPC) varied from 1 x 102 to 9.9 x 107 cfu/g in the samples collected from growers.
  • There was no incidence of Escherichia coli or Salmonella in any of the samples collected during the survey.

Cleaning, sorting and grading

  • Before packing, spices are cleaned to get rid of extraneous matter such as dirt, grit, stones, stalks and leaves and then graded.
  • Well defined trade grades and quality characteristics for turmeric have been established by the Department of Marketing and Inspection, Govt. of India according to the preshipment inspection scheme under the compulsory Quality Control Act.
  • These grade standards are implemented rigorously under the Agmark Grading Scheme particularly for export from India.
  • The adhearing scales and root bases or hairy roots are removed from cured and dried turmeric rhizomes (bulbs and fingers) by rubbing with the help of a coarse cloth or burlap, followed by winnowing. The cleaned product is then graded into fingers, bulbs, broken, etc.

Top

Packing and Packaging

  • Spice and spice products are hygroscopic in nature and being highly sensitive to moisture, their absorption of moisture. may result in caking, discolouration, hydrolytic rancidity, mould growth and insect attack.
  • They also contain volatile aromatic principles, and the loss of these principles and the absorption of foreign odours as a result of inefficient packaging, may pose serious problems, especially in ground spices.
  • In addition, heat and light accelerate deterioration, especially in oxygen - sensitive products.
  • Turmeric which contains curcumin content fades during storage, if not protected against light and air.
  • Almost all the spices are generally marketed in dry condition and most of them are hygroscopic and therefore, need protection against ingress of moisture.
  • The essential oil components naturally present in most of the spices, are prone to oxidation by atmospheric oxygen, particularly at high storage temperature, resulting in the development of off-flavours.
  • The ingress of moisture also encourages mould attack and insect infestation.
  • Most of the whole spices are protected by natural antioxidants present therein, and therefore they need less rigourous protection than do the ground spice.
  • Ground spices, because of the greater surface exposure, lose flavour faster as a result of the loss of volatile oil, and they absorb or lose moisture faster, depending on the atmospheric humidity surrounding them and the storage temperature. Thus, they deteriorate much more rapidly than do whole spices.
  • They are more susceptible to mould and insect attack. Therefore, ground spices need special attention in packaging to protect them against such rapid deterioration.
  • For the systematic determination of packing requirements and storage characteristics of food in general and of dehydrated or dried products like spices in particular, the measurement of equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) is of considerable importance.
  • Products having ERH less than 50 per cent are usually considered hygroscopic, whereas those with ERH above 50 per cent are hygroemissive.
  • The chemical composition and packaging requirements were studied for a number of spices including turmeric (whole and powder).
  • Data based on Wink's weight equilibrium method and pertaining to sorption isotherms and ERH, equilibrium moisture content (EMC) and moisture content at which mould attack and visible in turmeric power is presented.

Initial
moisture (%)
Equilibrium relative humidity (%)
Mould growth at moisture level (%)
Mould growth at relative humidity (%)
8.0 22 12.43 91 and above

Selection of packaging materials

  • Packaging of foods is usually utilitarian and protective.
  • The primary purpose of a food packer is to preserve the flavour and keep the product in good condition until it reaches the consumer.
  • The journey from prime producer to ultimate consumer is often long, sometimes half way around the world.
  • The waiting at the distribution way stations varies from days to months and sometimes is of unpredictable duration.
  • The product must reach the consumer, in usable condition, with fresh flavour and attractive appearances unimpaired.
  • Throughout the journey, the package must protect the contents from thermal changes, humidity variation, hazards of rough handling, rodent and insect attack.
  • A large number of factors must be considered in detail when one is choosing a suitable packaging material for flavourful food stuffs.
  • These factors may be grouped into two categories viz., basic factors and consumer acceptance factors.

Basic factors include

  • Price to packager
  • Sanitary qualities (protection of product from contamination)
  • Resistance to impact injury.
  • Effectiveness of interior surface.
  • Absence of handling problems.
  • Space and other storage requirements in the filling plant and in distribution including weight of package.
  • Special features relating to performance of packager

Consumer acceptance factors include

  • Size
  • Ease of opening
  • Reseal features
  • Pouring qualities
  • Space saving on consumer's premises.
  • Protection from light
  • Transparency
  • Tamper proof construction
  • Physical characteristics of outer surface, including appearance.
  • Ease of disposal
  • Special features relating to performance of consumer.
  • The package should fulfil two important functions; it must sell its contents as well as protect them.
  • The sale function includes attractive advertising potential, protection from mechanical damage and reasonable cost.
  • The protective function includes compatibility with the product and protection against climatic conditions, microorganisms, insect and filth and flavour gain or loss.
  • Finally, the package should fit in the production line to facilitate automation.

Types of packaging materials

    1. Paper and card board cartons
    2. Aluminium foil
    3. Combination of films
    4. Coextruded multilayer films
    5. Tin and wooden containers

  • Metallised poly-ester/polyethylene and paper/foil/ polyethylene pouches which are good barriers for water-vapour and volatiles/volatile oils, have been found to be suitable for different ground spices and their blends/mixtures with a shelf-life of about 12 months under Indian climatic conditions.
  • For ground spices like turmeric powder, rich in volatile oils/essential oils a 3-ply-laminate of polyester/metallised polyester/polyethylene has been found at CFTRI, Mysore, to be better packaging than metallized PET/polyethylene.
  • Polyethylene lined jute bags or HDPE or PP woven sacks have been found to give better protection than do the plain gunny bags for bulk package of whole rhizome.

Shelf life of ground turmeric packed in flexible pouches at 38 oC and 90% relative humidity

Packaging material
SL
VOL
LDPE (50) 25 35
LDPE (80) 45 30
CPP (50) 35 30
CPP (87) 50 20
MXXT cellophone glassine + LDPE (67) 45 20
MXXTOT cellophone/ LDPE (67) 45 15
Glassine/ LDPE (37) 20 5
Met PET/ LDPE (12/37) 120 10
Paper/foil (9)/ LDPE (37) 180 5

  • SL : Shelf life in days with respect to overall quality.
  • VOL: Loss of volatile oils in per cent at the end of 180 days.

Packaging machines for plastic packaging material

  • The three operations viz., pouch formation, product filling and heat sealing of filled pouches are carried out in just a single machine like Form-Fill-Seal Machine (FFSM).
  • There are different types of FFSM machine such as
  • Vertical FFSM with auger filler.
  • Vertical FFSM with volumetric filler and
  • Horizontal FFSM flow wrap machines.
  • They are now being manufactured indigenously for packaging of different categories of food products, including spices whole and ground and their blends.

Suggested retail packaging for turmeric

Product
Optimum moisture content (%)
Retail packaging
Turmeric powder 10 Packaging in AFC pouches, black polyethylene pouches.

  • There is considerable scope for further R & D work for innovations in packaging of whole and ground turmeric and their products particularly in respect of the development of less expensive and more efficient packaging in aluminium foil combination (AFC) and multi-layer laminated co-extruded films for pouch making and improved lighter in weight, cheaper and stronger secondary packages in lieu of wooden boxes, etc.
  • Keeping in view the growing consumer awareness and the needs of the environment, it is imperative that packing materials, packages and components conform to related quality standards.
  • New packages should be designed, bearing in mind, the basic necessity of recyclability, reprocessability and biodegradability, what to speak of laws and regulations of the exporting and importing countries concerned.

Top

Agmark Specifications and Preshipment Quality Control for Turmeric

  • Turmeric, both in whole and powder form, produced in India are graded under Agmark, the provision of Turmeric Grading and Marketing Rules, 1964.
  • The compulsory pre-shipment inspection and quality control in turmeric came into force on 15.8.1965
  • According to this, turmeric consignments have to be subjected to strict quality control measures, before they are exported.
  • The exporters have to observe various quality regulations during the preparation of export worthy produce, its packing and packaging.
  • Importance of grading elicits the fulfilment of three objectives, namely consumer satisfaction, healthy trade practices and better price for better produce.
  • Agmark grading is carried out both for internal market, as well as for export.
  • Agmark specifications for turmeric have been framed by the Agricultural Marketing Advisor to the Govt. of India, to formulate grade specification for any agricultural/livestock produce/products from time to time.
  • Turmeric is one among the 41 commodities compulsorily graded before export.
  • Agmark grading of turmeric consists of lot inspection, test sampling, packing, labelling, sealing and check sampling.
  • Each authorised packer of the produce will have to apply in the prescribed application form for the inspection of turmeric lots meant for export.
  • The application should clearly state the particulars of produce to be graded under Agmark such as, size of the lot, number of packages, net weight per container, specific quality requirements of buyer and country of destination.
  • On receipt of such an application, the inspecting officer draws representative sample from the lot (5 per cent minimum pooled into 1-1.5 kg) and sealed and sent to the laboratory for analysis.

The samples are analysed for the following factors:

    1. General characteristics of the turmeric.
    2. Foreign matter present in the sample.
    3. Defective bulbs and fingers.
    4. Presence of mould.
    5. Insect infestation, if found.
    6. Any other physical and chemical adulteration.
    7. Emphasis is given to the specific requirement of the buyer with regard to the quality as mentioned in the contract.
    8. In fact, the Indian exporters have to prepare the goods according to the quality requirements of the foreign buyer within the limits of Agmark specifications.

Physical factors

  • Varietal classification of turmeric is made on the basis of place of origin
  • Alleppey Fingers shall have closely grained characteristic wrinkles and yellow colour.
  • They shall be free from mould, insect infestation, perfectly dry and should not be artificially coloured.
  • Colour of the core and flexibility should be ascertained by breaking the turmeric fingers.
  • Occurrence of chura and defective bulbs in a lot of turmeric fingers is restricted to 7% maximum by weight.
  • Chura and defective bulbs are immature turmeric bulbs, damaged or shrivelled and will not have starch content inside.
  • Presence of bulbs in a lot of turmeric fingers, is considered to be a defect of the lot and is restricted to 5% maximum by weight in Alleppey variety.
  • Alleppey turmeric should not be mixed with other varieties. No tolerance limit has been prescribed in this regard.
  • While assigning a grade, presence of foreign matter and small pieces are also examined.
  • As the bulbs bear rootlets in their surface, they can be easily identified from fingers.
  • Fingers are secondary rhizomes developed laterally from the mother seed.
  • Turmeric fingers under Non-specified grade can be exported on production of Firm order from the buyer.
  • The buyer should specify the composition of turmeric fingers and its proportion.
  • Grades such as Fair, Good and Special are obtained by minimising or eliminating the defects.

Chemical factors

  • Separate grade specification has been prescribed for turmeric powder by incorporating chemical analysis
  • Moisture, total ash, acid insoluble ash, presence of lead, starch, etc. have to be analysed while grading the powder.
  • There are separate schedules for ground turmeric and coarse ground turmeric powder, the differences being the fineness of powder and total ash content.
  • Other factors are same for both ground and coarse ground turmeric.

Labelling and Sealing

  • On receipt of the analytical result, the inspecting officer assigns appropriate grade to the inspected lot and allows the authorized packer to proceed with packing of the produce as mentioned in the contract.
  • Normally turmeric fingers/bulbs are packed in single jute gunny bags.
  • These bags are stencilled with the grading particulars and shipping marks and destination.
  • Unit weight per bag is usually 63.5 kg.
  • Grade designation labels are stitched on these bags and sealed by a sealing plier in the presence of inspecting officer
  • A check sample is drawn from such labelled and sealed lots and again tested in the laboratory to see whether it conforms to required quality specifications.
  • Afterwards, a certificate is issued to the authorised packer.
  • The Agmark certificates issued after inspection, act as a third party guarantee for the quality.
  • Agmark certification issued can be re-validated on expiry of 90 days from the date of inspection.

World Trade

  • International trade in turmeric among major importers is estimated to be about 25,000 tonnes per annum.
  • Turmeric is internationally traded mainly in the whole form.
  • Taiwan exports sizeable quantity of turmeric to Japan while USA and Iran import substantial quantities from Hong Kong,
  • Jamaican turmeric is exported mainly to the North American market and U.K.
  • The leading importers of Indian turmeric are Middle-East countries, U.S.A, Japan and U.K.
  • International trade for ground turmeric is very small
  • In the ground form, it is shipped to certain African countries, notably Zambia and also to some of the Middle East countries.

Indian exports

  • India is the single largest exporter of turmeric in the world.
  • The fall in the value of Indian rupee against the US dollar had made Indian prices attractive in the world market.

Export of fresh turmeric

  • Bangladesh, U.A.E, Iran, Japan and U.S.A are the leading importers of fresh turmeric from India.

Export of dry turmeric

  • The major dry turmeric importing countries are U.A.E, Bangladesh, Japan, U.S.A. and South Africa.

Export of turmeric powder

  • The leading importers of turmeric powder are USA, UAE, and U.K. followed by Iran, Germany, Netherland and South Africa.

Export of turmeric oil

  • Turmeirc is exported to five major countries viz. France, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany and Australia.
  • France ranked first in respect of import, followed by Hong Kong and Japan.

Export of oleoresins of turmeric

  • USA ranks first followed by Germany and UK, in respect of import of oleoresins of turmeric.
  • Despite the excellent export potential, the output of turmeric has not kept pace with increasing domestic and export demand.
  • The surplus available for export has been stagnant for many years.
  • This has been so because a majority of farmers engaged in its cultivation are small and marginal farmers who are still employing primitive and unscientific techniques of cultivation and post harvest operations.

Top

Export

  • With the launching of the new economic policy, the emphasis of the Government and the policy makers has tilted towards the commodities which have market potential and could be exported to earn valuable foreign exchange.
  • Among the various agricultural commodities which have market and export potential from India, spices occupy a place of pride.
  • Among various spices, turmeric is one of the most important crops and as a result. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world market.
  • Indian turmeric is considered to be the best in world market because of its high curcumin content.

Major types of turmeric

  • The terms commonly used in commerce to describe the various physical forms of turmeric are fingers, bulbs and splits.
  • The three major types of turmeirc traded in the International markets are Alleppey, Madras and West Indian turmeric.
  • Alleppey turmeric, produced in Kerala and marketed in Alleppey is deep yellow to orange yellow in colour and has higher curcumin content upto 6.5 per cent.
  • Almost entire production of Alleppey turmeric is exported to the U.S. market in unpolished form and used largely as a food colourant.
  • Madras turmeric is produced in Tamil Nadu and marketed in Chennai. The rhizomes are mustard yellow in colour and have curcumin content of about 3.15 per cent. This type is more popular in India because of its quality of flavour.
  • Madras turmeric is the most common type used by curry powder/masala manufacturers in U.K.
  • West Indian turmeric is exported from the Caribbean, Central and South American Countries. The rhizomes are dull yellowish brown in colour, mostly small and of poor appearance.

Prospects

  • Though India faces stiff competition for turmeric from China and Peru in the International market, Iran has been our monopoly market on account of quality, price/competitiveness and proximity.
  • Middle-East is the biggest consumer of turmeric and India is the single largest supplier. This position can be retained through bilateral agreements among selected countries.
  • Introduction of a temporary ban on export of turmeric in the past has resulted in reduction of our exports to traditional markets.
  • The world trend towards natural colouring materials is increasing day by day.
  • The changing trend coupled with the superior quality of Indian turmeric will enable India to retain her leadership in International trade in turmeric.
  • Not only as a spice, but also in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, turmeric has got wide potential in International trade.
  • The essential prerequisites for developing our turmeric exports are:
  • There must be adequate exportable surplus of market driven turmeric having lemon-yellow, orange or orange yellow colour with high curcumin content.
  • Introduction of high yielding varieties for market driven items.
  • Our products must be offered at competitive prices in the International markets with appropriate positioning and have to promote specific brands in consumer packs.
  • Our supply should be consistent and reliable.
  • All our export promotion efforts would be ineffective if our prices are too high or if we do not have enough to sell or our quality is not up to the requirement of importing countries.

Top

Tamilnadu

Turmeric

Turmeric Management