Union Minister Piyush Goyal launches National Turmeric Board in Telangana's Nizamabad

The National Turmeric Board will provide leadership, augment efforts and facilitate coordination with other Government Departments and agencies in matters pertaining to the turmeric sector.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the National Turmeric Board (NTB) office in Nizamabad, Telangana, virtually from Delhi on Tuesday. This comes more than a year after the announcement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2023 during the campaign for the Telangana assembly election. Both Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu vied for the establishment of NTB in their respective state.

NTB on the lines of Tobacco Board has been a long pending demand in north Telangana where turmeric is cultivated in more than 50,000 hectares in erstwhile combined districts of Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Adilabad.

Lakhs including farmers, traders and those dependent upon the allied activity are associated with the cultivation of commercial crop turmeric in this region. Turmeric crop plays a very important role in the livelihood of the farmers of these areas. However, the wide price fluctuation of the crop over the years led to losses and affected the very existence of the farmers.

Turmeric exports from Telangana constitute at least 30 percent of India's overall exports.

Amid price fluctuations and other hardships, turmeric farmers have long been demanding a board on the lines of the tobacco board that decides on the extent of the crop to be grown in the season and ensures proper marketing of the produce. The Turmeric Board had also turned into a politically rallying point in Telangana. In 2019, BJP candidate from Nizamabad Lok Sabha, Dharmapuri Aravind, promised a Turmeric Board. After his win, there were protests by the farmers actively supported by other political parties for not fulfilling the promise of setting up the Turmeric Board.

The newly formed Board will have jurisdiction over 20 states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and others.

Piysuh Goyal also announced Palle Ganga Reddy as the National Turmeric Board's first Chairperson. The Minister noted that the launch of the National Turmeric Board is on an auspicious day of celebrations across the country. He highlighted that representatives from various ministries will also be a part of the National Turmeric Board. Representatives from exporters and producers bodies will also be added to the Board. Adding that turmeric is also known as ‘Golden Spice’, he pointed out that the newly formed Board will pay special attention to the welfare of the turmeric farmers spread across 20 states. He said that there is immense potential in increasing turmeric production in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and formation of the Turmeric Board will boost income of turmeric producers in the country.

The Minister noted that the new Board will promote research and development of new turmeric products, and will look into the value addition of turmeric related products for marketing abroad. The Board will also look into creating awareness on the essential and medical properties of turmeric, ways to increase its yield and boost logistics and supply chain to foster trade into newer markets, he said.

Goyal said that last year, 2023-24, an area of 3.05 lakh hectare was under turmeric cultivation in India with a production of 10.74 lakh tonnes. India was responsible for over 70 per cent of global turmeric production, he informed. He also shared that there are 30 varieties of turmeric produced in India.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Nizambad M Arvind Dharmapuri, were also present during the inauguration.

The National Turmeric Board will provide leadership, augment efforts and facilitate coordination with other Government Departments/Agencies in matters pertaining to the turmeric sector and facilitate growth and development of the Turmeric sector in the country.

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world. India has more than 62% share of world trade. During 2023-24, 1.62 lakh tonnes of turmeric and turmeric products valued at $226.5 million was exported.