Good monsoon and higher acreage supported by favourable weather conditions has brightened crop prospects for key spices crops including cumin seed (jeera) and coriander seeds (dhana) among others.
The Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS), on Sunday released its crop estimate for cumin seed with a 29-per cent jump in the crop size from last year. The estimated production for the year 2020, is estimated at 5,35,500 tonnes as against the estimated 4,16,600 tonnes in 2019.
The total area under jeera has increased by about 25 per cent at 10,25,600 hectares. Of the two jeera producing states, Gujarat has witnessed 40 per cent jump in the acreage to 4,39,830 hectares for 2020 as against 3,15,000 hectares last year. While Rajasthan reported a modest 16 per cent increase in the cuminseed area at 5,85,770 hectares as against 5,06,000 hectares last year. The overall yield is estimated to be in the range of 522 kg per hectares with a marginal increase of 3 per cent over last year.
“After good monsoon and increased weather, favourable weather conditions have supported the crop. However, there are some concerns for the next 2-3 weeks as most of the crop is still standing in the fields and any climatic disturbance at this juncture may adversely affect the crop,” said Ashwin Nayak, Chairman, Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS) after the industry meet in Udaipur on Sunday.
The spot prices have already fallen to Rs 13,903.55 a quintal, which is Rs 600-700 fall within a month. Jeera futures for March contract on NCDEX was weaker at Rs 13,605.