Turmeric growers have decided to abstain from markets for two days on January 24 and 25 to press the Union and state governments for procuring the spice directly from farmers at minimum Rs 10,000 per quintal.
An unanimous decision in this regard was taken at an urgent meeting of the Turmeric Farmers Associations of India here yesterday.
The association president, P.K. Deivasigamani, told reporters later that turmeric was sold up to Rs 17,000 per quintal in almost all the markets last year, but the prices had started declining this year and it was now selling at below Rs 4,000 per quintal.
He suspected that traders have joined hands to form a cartel quoting a low price in spite of the fact that turmeric was selling at more than Rs 8,000 in private open markets at Mumbai and Sodhapuram in Andhra Pradesh. This has resulted in farmers incurring huge losses.
Mr Deivasigamani said farmers in Sangli in Maharashtra had already stopped bringing turmeric for sale to the market from January 17.
Asked about the farmers’ decision to keep away from the market, President of the Erode Turmeric Merchants Association, R.K.V. Ravishankar, said they would consult the association members and take a decision on whether to close the markets for these two days.
He said it would not be possible to run the market if farmers did not attend the sale.