Cumin prices in India spikes on shrinking output, set to touch 5-year high

Cumin Seed

India

Published May 5, 2022

Tridge summary

Cumin prices are likely to soar by up to 30-35 per cent to touch a five-year high of Rs 165-170 per kg in the 2021-2022 crop season following a decline in production, low acreage and damage to the crop due to excess rainfall, according to a report. Cumin appears set to take the centre stage as a sharp decline in production in crop season 2021-22 (November-May) drives up its prices to a five-year high, Crisil Research said in a report.

Original content

Cumin acreage also fell by an estimated 21 per cent year-on-year to 9.83 lakh hectare during Rabi season 2021-2022, it said. The acreage has declined by 22 per cent in Gujarat and by 20 per cent in Rajasthan, the two major cumin-producing states. According to the report, the decline in acreage is due to farmers shifting to mustard and gram crops, which witnessed a surge in prices. During the cumin sowing period (October-December 2021), mustard prices jumped 43 per cent year-on-year to Rs 74 per kg and gram prices increased 35 per cent, making these more attractive, it added. The report revealed that cumin prices have been falling since 2018, in fact, prices plummeted in 2020 and 2021 (up to August), which might have been another reason for deterring farmers from taking up the cumin crop. Cumin is sensitive to water and excess moisture in soil leads to diseases such as wilt and excess rainfall in the key cumin belts of Dwarka, Banaskantha and Kutch in Gujarat, and Jodhpur and ...

Source: Indoasiancommodities