Decline in jeera (cumminseed) production this year is proving to be a boon to farmers as the prices have been ruling significantly higher than last year.
Due to warm weather prevailing in January and February across two key jeera producing states Rajathan and Gujarat, the production this year is expected to go down to around 2.3 million bags (60 kg a bag) against 2.8 million bags achieved last year.
According to traders from Unjha in Gujarat prices at present is in the range of Rs 1,900-2,400 (20 kg bag) as against around Rs 1,600 same period last year. According to Gujarat agriculture department data, because of the bumper crop last year mainly due to cold climate, 3.31 lakh hectare of agricultural land was taken up for jeera cultivation in the state this year against 2.69 lakh hectare last year. Jeera is a rabi crop and Gujarat produces 60% of jeera produced in the country.
?This time due to warm weather, there has been a major crop failure in Gujarat while the crop in Rajasthan has been of good,? Manu Patel, president, Market Yard Merchant Association, Unjha told FE.
Patel said that production this year is expected to meet the domestic demand of around 2.2 million bags while carry-forward stocks will be around 3-4 lakh bags. ?Farmers are still bringing in 20,000 bags every day and is likely to continue till end of May,? another trader of Unjha said.
He said that prices would be on the higher side till June when fresh produce enters the global market from Syria and Turkey, another key jeera producing countries. According to Spices Board of India, the earnings from jeera exports have gone up from Rs 201 crore during 2006-07 to Rs 291 crore during 2007-08 and inquantity terms, the exports has gone up from 26,000 tonne during 2006-07 to 28,000 tonne during 2007-08.
During the first eleven months of the last fiscal, Jeera exports surged to a record 31,000 tonne.