Dried turmeric fell from Tk 12,000 a maund to under Tk 4,000; one jhum farmer's Tk 18,000
In Dighinala, Khagrachhari, dried turmeric fetched Tk 10,000–12,000 a maund in 2011–12, then fell below Tk 4,000 and many quit. One jhum farmer turned four maunds of seed turmeric into 4.5 maunds dried, sold for Tk 18,000.
Turmeric is a major crop on the hill land of Dighinala, Khagrachhari. According to a 2016 Prothom Alo report, in 2011–12 dried turmeric sold for Tk 10,000 to 12,000 a maund. Hoping for extra profit, many people then took up turmeric farming. After that the price fell every year; in 2015 it dropped below Tk 4,000 a maund. Disheartened by their losses, many farmers did not plant turmeric the following year, and cultivation in the upazila fell by 175 acres. In 2016 the price rose somewhat, to Tk 4,200 to 4,800 a maund.
A jhum farmer in the Boradam area had planted four maunds of raw turmeric on hill land alongside his jhum crops. The yield was about 25 maunds; after drying he got four and a half maunds of dried turmeric, which he sold for Tk 18,000. He said that if it pays like this he will grow more.
Agriculture officials said that if the turmeric is of good size, four maunds of raw turmeric, boiled and dried, make one maund of dried turmeric; if it is small, it takes five maunds. Aratdars buy it from local markets and send it to Dhaka and Chattogram.
Lessons
- 1.When everyone plants after a price spike, prices fall for years; look at several years of prices before committing.
- 2.Raw turmeric dries to a quarter or fifth of its weight; calculate profit on dried weight.
- 3.Growing turmeric alongside jhum crops needs little extra land or cost, which limits the damage when prices fall.
We published this with the person's permission, without revealing who they are.
Discussion
Nobody has written anything yet. You can be the first.