‘Manjal Maanagaram’ is the second largest turmeric market in India
The Hindu
Erode is the second largest turmeric producer in India, next to Nizamabad in Telangana; it is also home to one of the busiest markets, where consumers, traders and exporters vie for the best spice available; buyers from across the country can bid online as well
Think of turmeric, and the first thing that would come to the mind in this part of the country is the bright yellow coloured Erode Manjal (turmeric). Erode is the second largest turmeric market in India, next to Nizamabad in Telangana. The city is nicknamed ‘ Manjal Maanagaram ’ (turmeric city).
Turmeric is one of the most important spices with medicinal properties. The Atharvaveda mentions it as a cure for jaundice. The commodity was traded even during the Chera, Chola and Pandya eras.
Erode, a taluk in Coimbatore district until 1979, finds a mention in the Gazetteer of South India (1901-1906). It says turmeric was one of the chief ‘exports’ from Coimbatore to the neighbouring districts. Also, in Posselt’s Textile Journal (February 1917), it was mentioned that turmeric was widely cultivated in Erode in the Madras Presidency.
There are four turmeric markets in Erode district — Agricultural Producers Cooperative Marketing Society Limited in Gobichettipalayam (1928); the Regulated Market in Erode (established in 1954); Erode (1960); and Perundurai (1962).
The Regulated Market in Erode functions in the Turmeric Market Complex owned by Erode Turmeric Merchants and Godown Owners’ Association. It is one of the busiest markets in the country.
“During the 1950s, trading was unorganised and was carried out from a small place on Park Road in the town. In 1954, a turmeric association was started, and traders used to visit each of the 10 to 20 shops for auctioning,” says V.K. Rajamanickam, former secretary of the association and now president of the Federation of All Trade and Industry Associations of Erode (FATIA). Later, because of lack of space and traffic congestion, the association moved to a 52-acre campus at Semmampalayam on Nasiyanur Road that has godowns.
Members encouraged farmers in the State and in south Karnataka to cultivate turmeric and helped to improve the arrival at the market. “Members and commission agents gave financial support to farmers for cultivating turmeric and sinking bore-wells, besides for marriages in their families,” says M. Sathyamurthy, secretary of the association.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.