Parliament Question: GI-Tagged Erode Turmeric

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2614. TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 04TH AUGUST, 2026. GI-TAGGED ERODE TURMERIC 2614. SHRI K E PRAKASH: Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state: वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री (a) whether the Government has taken any assessment of production, market arrivals and price trends of GI-tagged Erode Turmeric during the current Kharif season and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether any financial or technical assistance is being provided under ongoing Central schemes to support turmeric farmers affected by climatic conditions and production constraints, including those in Tamil Nadu, if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Union Government has any proposal to strengthen post-harvest infrastructure, value addition, storage, export facilitation and market linkages for turmeric growers in Erode and other producing regions, if so, the details thereof; and (d) whether any measures are under consideration to improve price stabilisation, market intelligence and risk-management support for turmeric farmers and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री (श्री णिणिन प्रसाद) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a): No Sir. However, as per Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the area and production of turmeric in the country has shown an increasing trend during the recent years. Overall, favourable climatic conditions, coupled with lower incidence of pests and diseases, supported increase in production. In addition, the prevailing high market prices of turmeric encouraged farmers to bring more area under cultivation, leading to a corresponding increase in turmeric production. The annual average price of Turmeric for the last five years in Tamil Nadu is given below: Annual Average Prices of Turmeric in Major Producing States (Price in Rs./quintal) S. No. Year Tamil Nadu - Erode 1 2021-22 7173 2 2022-23 6774 3 2023-24 9582 4 2024-25 14341 5 2025-26 12173(b): As per information available with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the State Government is primarily responsible for providing necessary relief measures on ground level in the wake of notified calamities under the National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM). The State Governments undertake relief measures in the wake of natural calamities from funds available in the form of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) in accordance with the Government of India approved items and norms. Additional financial assistance, over and above SDRF, is considered from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), as per laid down procedure, in case of disaster of ‘severe nature’, which includes an assessment based on the visit of an Inter- Ministerial Central Team (IMCT). The financial assistance provided under SDRF and NDRF is by way of relief and not for compensation. The details of the fund allocated and released under SDRF/NDRF to the States, are available on Disaster Management Division, Ministry of Home Affairs' website i.e. ndmindia.mha.gov.in. In addition, the Government has introduced the yield-based Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and weather index based Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) from Kharif 2016 to provide financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of natural calamities, adverse weather incidence and to stabilize the income of farmers etc. PMFBY provides for comprehensive risk insurance against crop damage from pre sowing to post-harvest for crops and area notified by the concerned State Government. The scheme not only safeguards against wide spread yield loss due to non-preventable natural risks/ & extreme climate calamities viz. flood, inundation, landslide, drought, heat waves, hailstorm, cyclone, pests/diseases, natural fire and lightening, storm, typhoon, tempest, hurricane, tornado etc. but also, against farm level yield loss due to localized risks (hailstorm, landslide, inundation, cloud burst and natural fire) and post- harvest losses due to cyclone, cyclonic/unseasonal rain and hailstorm and prevented sowing. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) implements a flagship network project National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) to strengthen climate resilience in agriculture and to promote climate-resilient agricultural practices across the country. (c) & (d): The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) through implementation of various initiatives and schemes viz. Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), Prime Minister Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) and Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industries (PLISFPI) aims for the overall development of food processing sector. Under various component of the aforementioned schemes, the MoFPI provides financial assistance for creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet. The infrastructure created and assistance provided aims at improving shelf life of agri-produce, providing better returns to farmers, creation of employment opportunities, reducing wastage and post-harvest losses, increasing the processing level and enhancing the export of the processed foods.Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare also implements several measures/schemes to strengthen post-harvest management, logistics, storage and value addition. Under Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) Scheme, 12,353 storage infrastructure projects with storage capacity of 369.18 lakh MT and 6,901 non-storage projects have been sanctioned in last ten years. Under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) interest subvention support has been extended to 18,893 warehouses, 3,110 cold stores/cold chain projects and 2,105 integrated primary and secondary processing units. Under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) component, about 1.76 lakh infrastructure units, including pack houses, cold storages, refrigerated vans, ripening chambers, pre-cooling and processing units have been created. Under the Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Poigai Farmer Producer Company Limited (FPCL) was sanctioned assistance on 18.03.2021 in Bhavani Block of Erode District with Turmeric as the commodity for the FPO. Under the scheme, Cluster-Based Business Organization (CBBO) cost of ₹25.00 lakh and FPO cost of ₹18.00 lakh have been sanctioned. In addition to other activities, the FPO is engaged in turmeric value addition products such as Turmeric powder, Turmeric Halwa and pickle etc. The FPOs collectivise farmers for aggregation of produce to leverage economies of scale and increase bargaining power of member farmers. The Government of India established the National Turmeric Board in 2023 to promote turmeric production, development and value addition; enhance domestic and international consumption; facilitate the creation and improvement of infrastructure and logistics for turmeric exports; and support the overall growth of the turmeric sector. Spices Board is mandated for export promotion and quality management for export of 53 scheduled spices, as well as the production, research and domestic marketing of cardamom. Spices Board, under its “Sustainability in Spice Sector through Progressive, Innovative and Collaborative Interventions for Export Development (SPICED)” scheme, has been undertaking several measures to strengthen post-harvest infrastructure, value addition, storage, export facilitation and market linkages for turmeric growers, including the growers from Erode. These measures inter alia include support for setting up turmeric boilers and polishers; support to groups for obtaining Organic certification and maintaining Internal Control System; organization of Buyer Seller meets; and capacity building programs on post-harvest improvement practices, food safety & quality compliance. Also, the Board’s Quality Evaluation laboratories provide analytical services to the sector, including testing and clearance of export consignments of turmeric to major export destinations. The development of turmeric is also supported by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India through their flagship programmes such as the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Natural Resource Management (NRM), Soil Health Card, e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) etc. Under MIDH, several production-oriented programmes are being implemented by the Government ofIndia through State Horticulture Missions set up under the State Governments including Tamil Nadu. MIDH has special components for creation of Marketing Infrastructure and Mechanization, which also extends for turmeric. The National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) virtually integrates Physical Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs). The platform provides farmers access to a larger pool of buyers through transparent online bidding, better price discovery and direct payment of sale proceeds into their bank accounts. The platform also facilitates inter-State trade by enabling buyers across the country to participate in online bidding. As on 30th June, 2026, 1.89 crore farmers and 2.78 lakh traders are registered on e-NAM. Inter-State trade on e-NAM has increased from 563 MT (₹37 lakh) in 2018-19 to 2,984.3 MT (14.28 crore) in 2025-26, with cumulative inter-State trade of 28,566 MT valued at ₹83.95 crore. *******