Unseasonal rain may have brought Gujarat some respite, but it has given spice traders and farmers sleepless nights. Burhanpur, Khandwa, Barwani, and Khargone districts have significantly damaged their wheat and corn crops due to untimely rainfall and hailstorms.
Farmers from Uchana Kalan town demonstrated at the SDM office, demanding special girdawari and compensation for crop loss from hailstorms and heavy rain. They were led by deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala.
Surveys to assess damage are being carried out. There were gusty gusts and hailstorms in the Khandwa district of Harsud. There is a chance of thunderstorms, lightning, and scattered rainfall in the areas of Indore, Ujjain, Ratlam, Agar Malwa, and Khandwa, regions on high alert.
Meanwhile, cumin costs are increasing even though a bountiful crop is anticipated this season. A fortnight ago, cumin prices were up 11% to Rs 33,425 per quintal, according to data from the Unjha market yard, reported by The Times of India.
“Current cumin production projections are far higher than last year’s figures and prices were thus muted. However, due to the recent rain prices are set to firm up because of an anticipated decline in quality and yield to some extent. The exact picture will be clear in a week when the crop survey is done,” Ashwin Nayak, chairman of Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS), was quoted as saying.
Unjha APMC officials claim that the current state of traders’ reluctance to purchase has resulted in a decrease in supply, and that farmers have also stored their food in secure locations.
The TOI report added that Gujarat and Rajasthan were globally the key suppliers of cumin, especially since production and exports from Syria and Turkey, two critical producers, had come down.
The report, citing FISS estimates, claimed that in Gujarat, cumin production will be about 46.2 lakh bags (55kg each) or 2.54 lakh metric tonnes (MT) this year, approximately 80% higher than that in 2023.
Trading of cumin from Rajasthan and Gujarat takes place at the APMC yard in Unjha.
“Due to the recent rain, supply at the yard has slowed. Some part of the crop is yet to be harvested and thus quality and yield may dip. Total output projections are high but we’re watching supply and the weather closely,” Nayak told the daily.
Assessment for the losses is being carried out.
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