Anvesh Reddy stated that turmeric prices were hovering around Rs 12,000 per quintal in 2024-25, with some variations around Rs 11,000 per quintal
HYDERABAD: Senior Congress leader and Telangana Seeds Development Corporation chairman Sunketa Anvesh Reddy criticised BRS leaders Prashant Reddy and Kalvakuntla Kavitha for blaming the Congress government over the alleged decline in turmeric prices. He acknowledged that while the current prices were not satisfactory, they were significantly better than those during the BRS regime.
Speaking to reporters, Anvesh Reddy stated that turmeric prices were hovering around Rs 12,000 per quintal in 2024-25, with some variations around Rs 11,000 per quintal. He pointed out that during BRS’ 10-year rule, turmeric prices never crossed Rs 7,000 per quintal. He further accused the previous government of suppressing farmers' protests by arresting farmer leaders, filing cases against them and imprisoning those who demanded better prices. “The BRS government even arrested me and six others when we filed nominations as Rythu Sangham leaders in the elections,” he alleged.
Reddy also expressed disappointment that the formation of the Turmeric Board by the central government in 2024 had not yielded any real benefits for farmers. He urged the Centre to procure turmeric through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED). He added that the state government was willing to purchase turmeric from farmers at market yards and had directed officials to ensure that farmers in Telangana received the same prices as those in Sangli, Maharashtra, the country’s largest turmeric market. Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao had also appealed to the Centre to step in and procure turmeric through NAFED, he noted.
Highlighting another key issue, Reddy urged the Centre to provide machines to check the moisture content in turmeric, as farmers were incurring heavy losses by bringing produce with high moisture content to market yards without proper assessment. On the issue of adulterated seeds, Reddy assured that the Congress government had instructed district collectors to ensure compensation for farmers affected by spurious seeds.
