By The Sunday Morning Business
The prevailing ban on turmeric imports, while creating a shortage of the popular spice in the medium term, is expected to enable Sri Lanka to become self-sufficient in turmeric by early 2022, according to the Department of Export Agriculture (DEA).
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, DEA Director General Dr. A.P. Heenkenda said that measures are underway to cultivate turmeric in Sri Lanka to meet 50% of the local demand of turmeric next year and 100% of it by 2022.
As an initial measure, turmeric has been cultivated in Ampara, Kegalle, Kandy, Kurunegala, Gampaha, and Ratnapura and the collective extent of these cultivated lands is 1,500 hectares. In addition to this, the DEA expects to cultivate a further 2,500 hectares of turmeric this year to meet next year’s requirement. The cultivated land extent is expected to be doubled next year to meet the demand of 2022.
Sri Lanka is mostly dependent on imports for its turmeric requirement. Nevertheless, as part of the measures that are being taken by the Government to avert a foreign exchange crisis, turmeric imports were strictly banned in July this year.
Despite a turmeric shortage in the local market, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been firm in his decision, which has forced consumers to rely solely on the local output. The move is also intended to uplift the farming community and rural economy.
Sri Lanka’s current dry turmeric requirement is about 7,000 MT per year while the local production contributes 1,500 MT of the requirement. The rest was imported from India.
Prior to the import ban, the price per kilogramme of turmeric stood at Rs. 325 with an import tax of Rs. 102. Nevertheless, there were complaints that in the black market, one kilogramme of turmeric was being sold for over Rs. 4,000 despite the maximum retail prices that had been set. The ban has also led to turmeric smuggling from India in the recent past.Turmeric self-sufficiency by 2022
13 Sep 2020
Turmeric self-sufficiency by 2022
13 Sep 2020
By The Sunday Morning Business
The prevailing ban on turmeric imports, while creating a shortage of the popular spice in the medium term, is expected to enable Sri Lanka to become self-sufficient in turmeric by early 2022, according to the Department of Export Agriculture (DEA).
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, DEA Director General Dr. A.P. Heenkenda said that measures are underway to cultivate turmeric in Sri Lanka to meet 50% of the local demand of turmeric next year and 100% of it by 2022.
As an initial measure, turmeric has been cultivated in Ampara, Kegalle, Kandy, Kurunegala, Gampaha, and Ratnapura and the collective extent of these cultivated lands is 1,500 hectares. In addition to this, the DEA expects to cultivate a further 2,500 hectares of turmeric this year to meet next year’s requirement. The cultivated land extent is expected to be doubled next year to meet the demand of 2022.
Sri Lanka is mostly dependent on imports for its turmeric requirement. Nevertheless, as part of the measures that are being taken by the Government to avert a foreign exchange crisis, turmeric imports were strictly banned in July this year.
Despite a turmeric shortage in the local market, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been firm in his decision, which has forced consumers to rely solely on the local output. The move is also intended to uplift the farming community and rural economy.
Sri Lanka’s current dry turmeric requirement is about 7,000 MT per year while the local production contributes 1,500 MT of the requirement. The rest was imported from India.
Prior to the import ban, the price per kilogramme of turmeric stood at Rs. 325 with an import tax of Rs. 102. Nevertheless, there were complaints that in the black market, one kilogramme of turmeric was being sold for over Rs. 4,000 despite the maximum retail prices that had been set. The ban has also led to turmeric smuggling from India in the recent past.Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!