The government aims to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in turmeric by 2023, stated the Director (Development) of Department of Export Agriculture Upul Ranaweera.
Sri Lanka had cultivated about 923 hectares of turmeric in 2019 and was able to harvest about 9500 metric tons of raw turmeric. It produced 1500 metric tons of dry turmeric.
The annual consumption of turmeric in the country is 7500 metric tons. The amount of turmeric imported in that year to meet the remaining requirement was 5,288 metric tons and it cost Rs. 1.142 billion.
Also, turmeric grown in Sri Lanka and India has a high value of medicinal properties due to the presence of a chemical called curcumin.
However, research has found that the turmeric imported from India contains less than 3% curcumin and turmeric grown in Sri Lanka has more than 3% of curcumin and the percentage can increase up to 7%.
