web – Page 6 – Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development (DASD)

Prices

Monthly average prices of various major spices and arecanut (Price Rs/quintal) Month Pepper Garbled (Cochin) Ginger Dry (Cochin) Chillies (Virudhunugar) 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 April 51300 48800 17000 23000 13040 19000 May 50425 48800 17000 26750 13300 19000 June 48900 48900 16000 27000 13600 17500 July 48800 51800 16000 27000 35900 18300 August 49500 60750 16000 29875 36000 18900 September 49820 62600 15500 33000 36000 18900 October 49100 61100 15500 33000 36000 18900 November 48800 59450 17000 33000 35000 18900 December 49400 59260 17000 33000 33500 18900 January 49400 58875 17500 33000 22600 19600 February 49200 54350 18625 34500 20100 March 48800 50600 20800 35000 18700 Mean 49454 55440 16994 30677 26145 18790 (Price Rs quintal) Month Turmeric (Chennai) Garlic (Chennai) Coriander (Chennai) 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 April 10700 7437 4500 5187 12962 7562 May 10500 7875 4063 5437 13375 7250 June 10666 7812 3666 6625 13166 7750 July 10450 11950 4250 10500 13100 8300 August 10437 14562 4250 10875 13250 9625 September 9400 11400 3250 10500 13400 8900 October 9625 11062 3437 10625 12625 10000 November 9437 10500 4375 10500 12737 11812 December 9700 10450 3600 11600 11400 12250 January 9000 11875 3875 12562 9500 13250 February 8687 12188 5125 18250 8562 15250 March 9100 6700 7950 Mean 9809 4258 11836 10177 (Price Rs/quintal) Month Cumin (Chennai) Fennel (Chennai) Fenugreek (Chennai) 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 April 25500 44500 16500 22333 8000 8166 May 26875 43875 14000 24625 8550 8250 June 27000 55750 13166 27500 8566 8312 July 27450 66500 15075 32600 8500 8800 August 28000 65375 17825 33125 8333 9187 September 27200 64900 17800 28000 6970 9450 October 27312 59750 20500 24750 7562 9562 November 28000 55125 19937 23000 7750 11500 December 31700 60800 21500 28050 7750 11700 January 37250 58875 22700 29938 9000 13625 February 36750 51250 21625 32375 9250 12813 March 38400 24150 8000 Mean 30120 56973 18736 27845 8186 10124 (Price Rs/quintal) Month Tamarind (Chennai) Ajwan (Chennai) Mace – Rs/kg (Cochin) 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 April 12600 12750 17540 17000 900 1236 May 13250 10250 17850 17750 900 1137 June 10966 12125 17333 18125 900 785 July 14800 11400 17400 21400 900 690 August 12125 11937 16375 24250 900 850 September 11200 11300 15850 21400 900 786 October 11125 12250 16750 19000 900 600 November 11375 11312 19125 16750 945 597 December 11900 11700 21800 18000 1143 667 January 11500 10875 21500 17813 1333 700 February 13187 10813 20625 17288 1028 650 March 14600 18300 1315 Mean 12386 11519 18371 18980 1005 791 (Price Rs/quintal) Month Clove (Cochin) Nutmeg without shell (Cochin) Arecanut-Dry (Kozhikode) 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 April 75888 80716 54000 48100 33500 35500 May 76896 80796 52500 47278 34000 36200 June 79775 90923 46875 37115 33000 36000 July 82697 93413 51550 42120 35000 37000 August 83937 94116 55125 42775 37500 39000 September 84687 92160 55826 42331 38500 38500 October 83314 90500 57291 41500 NT 38000 November 83740 91655 57250 41306 30500 38000 December 84000 92250 56285 42153 31000 38000 January 87333 92580 59333 42500 32500 36500 February 77700 92000 59820 39960 32500 March 80333 55574 33500 Mean 80858 90101 55119 42467 33772 37270

Statistics

Cost of Production

Statistics / web

Cost of production Cost of Cultivation of Turmeric 2024-25 S.No Particulars Dosage Cost (Rs/Acre) 1 FYM 10 tonnes (One lorry load) @ Rs.20,000/- per load 20,000.00 2 Tank silt/ Black soil 20 tonnes (1 tipper load) @ Rs.5000/- per load 5000.00 3 Ploughing 4 hours @ Rs.1200/- per hour 4800.00 4 Bed formation 2 hours @ Rs.1200/- per hour 2400.00 5 Seed cost 600 kg @ 30 per Kg 18000.00 6 Seed treatment and other pesticides Pesticides (Granules and spray) [2 Men labour, cost for spraying @Rs 500] 3000.00 7 Sowing 5 women labour @ Rs 300/- per person 1500.00 8 Weeding 6 times x 6 labour x Rs 300/- per person 10800.00 9 Fertilizers and neem cake 8 bags of Neem cake, 3 bags of vermicompost 5 bags of SSP 2 bags of MOP 3 bags of Urea 20 Kgs of Zinc 18000.00 10 Pesticides and spray Chemicals Rs 1000/- Labour for spray 500/- ( 2 labour) 3000.00 11 Irrigation 30 to 40 times irrigation @ 300 per person 6,000.00 12 Manual digging of rhizomes Leaf cutting Rs.300 x 3 labour Rhizomes Digging Rs. 800 x 10 labour Cleaning and removal of soil and roots (10 women labour @ Rs 300/- per person 900.00 8000.00 3000.00 13 Post-harvest operations Boiling (Steam boiling, fire wood and labour) Drying (Sun drying) Polishing (Tractor mounted) Transportation (Market) 15000.00 500.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 Total Cost of Cultivation 1,28,900.00 Average yield (dry/processed) Quintal / Acre [24 quintal/acre, 60 quintal/hectare] 24.00 Cost of production (Rs/Quintal) 5370.83 Source: SKLTSHU, Hyderabad, Telangana Item-wise Cost of Cultivation for Dry Chilliproduction in TELANGANA S.No Particulars Cost (Rs/ha) 1 Land preparation (two times chisel plough, two harrowing, one leveling, ridges and furrows/beds, trimming of beds etc) 15000 2 Seed cost 21250 3 Bed preparation in Nursery (40x3m two men x600) 3000 4 Sowing and transplanting (10 women x350) 8750 5 Cost of Manures and fertilisers 18750 6 Cost of pesticides (sticky traps,pheromone traps) 100000 7 Manures, Fertilizers and Labour Charges for Application (5 times 3 women @each time 15women x300) 11250 8 Inter-cultivation 25000 9 Weeding for 4 times (36 members @ Rs.300/-) 27000 10 Irrigation for 4-5 times (10 men x600) 15000 11 Plant protection measures 20 sprays (10 men x600) 30000 12 Harvesting cost (3 pickings)(100 women x200) 50000 13 Grading, Packing & Transport to Market yard (10 women x350) 25000 Total Cost of Cultivation (Rs/ha) 3,50,000 Dry yield (State average for the last 5 years) 50 quintal/ha Cost of production (Rs/quintal) Rs 7000/quintal Source: SKLTSHU, Telangana Itemwise Cost of Cultivation for Dry Chilliproduction in KARNATAKA Sl. No. DETAILS Unit Unit cost Amt. (Rs/ha) 1 Land preparation Manual 4 400 1600 Tractor 2 1500 3000 Bullock 1 950 950 2 Manures Manures (Ton) 15 2000 30000 3 Fertilizers DAP 156 27 4212 Urea 265 5.4 1431 MOP 125 20 2500 4 Seeds Seeds(kg) 1 5000 5000 Raising seedlings and transplanting Prep. of beds and raising seedlings 10 300 3000 T.P/Gap Filling 10 300 3000 6 Interculture Manual 2 400 800 Bullock 4 950 3800 7 Fertilizer appl. Manual 20 400 8000 8 Irrigation Manual 20 400 8000 9 Weedicides/Weedings Wedicides 2 750 1500 10 Weedicide appln 3 400 1200 Manual weeding 40 400 16000 11 Plant protection PP Chemicals _ 40000 40000 Manual 36 400 14400 12 Harvesting Manual 60 400 24000 13 Processing and handling Manual 20 400 8000 14 Miscellaneous 4000 2000 15 Total cost of cultivation (Rs/ha) 1,82,393 16 Dry yield (State average for the last 5 years) 16.42 quintal/ha 18 Cost of Production (Rs/quintal) Rs 11108/quintal Source: UAS, Dharwad, Karnataka Itemwise Cost of Cultivation for Dry Chilli (BYADAGI TYPE) production in KARNATAKA Sl. No. DETAILS Unit Unit cost Amt. (Rs.) 1 Land preparation Manual (no) 4 400 1600 Tractor (hour) 2 1500 3000 Bullock (day) 1 950 950 2 Manures Manures (ton) 15 2000 30000 3 Fertilizers DAP(kg) 108 27 2916 Urea (kg) 174 5.4 940 MOP (kg) 83 20 1660 4 Seeds Seeds(kg) 1 2000 2000 5 Raising seedlings and transplanting Prep. of beds and raising seedlings (no) 10 300 3000 Manual for T.P/Gap Filling (no) 10 300 3000 6 Interculture Manual (no) 2 400 800 Bullock 4 950 3800 7 Fertilizer appl. Manual (no) 20 400 8000 8 Weedicides/Weedings Wedicides 2 750 1500 Weedicide appln- Manual (no) 3 400 1200 Manual weeding 40 400 16000 9 Plant protection PP Chemicals _ 20000 20000 Manual (no) 24 400 9600 10 Harvesting Manual (no) 40 400 16000 11 Processing and handling Manual 10 400 4000 12 Miscellaneous 2000 2000 13 Total Cost of Cultivation (Rs/ha) 1,31,966 14 Dry Yield (As reported by UAS, Dharwad) 10 quintal/ha 16 Cost of Production (Rs/quintal) Rs 13195/quintal Source: UAS Dharwad, Karnataka Itemwise Cost of Cultivation of Ginger (Fresh) in Karnataka S.No. Cost Components Quantity Cost (Rs/ha) 1. Hired human labour 200 man days 80000 2. Machine labour 15 hrs 15000 3. Seed rhizome 25 qtl 125000 4. Farmyard Manure 25 ton 50000 5. Chemical fertilisers 55000 6. Plant protection measures 30000 7. Cost of irrigation 15000 Sub total 370000 8. Interest on working capital 33000 9. Harvesting and transportation cost 10000 Total cost 413000 Average yield in commercial cultivation (fresh ginger) 20 tonnes/ha Cost of production (Rs/kg) of fresh ginger Rs 20.65 It is an indicative cost of production, worked out based on the inputs received from University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. The yield taken is the average yield obtained in commercial cultivation of ginger. Itemwise cost of cultivation of black pepper in Kerala 2020 S. No. Particulars Cost (Rs/ha) 1 Value of hired labour 46279 2 Value of machine and animal labour 232 3 Value of planting material 3245 4 Value of Plant Protection Chemicals 377 5 Value of manures and fertilizers 15967 6 Land revenue cess and other taxes 144 7 Depreciation on implements and farm building 799 8 Annual repairs 1209 9 Interest on Working Capital 6868 10 Amortized value of establishment Cost 29835 11 Miscellaneous 4372 12 Total

Farmers Corner

Planting Material Availability

Farmers Corner / web

To know the planting material availability, the DASD developed a website, https://spicenurseries.in/ exclusively for the information on planting material availability of different spices. The nurseries shown in the site are all accredited. List of Accredited Nurseries- updated as on 1st September 2026

Mandate Crops

Arecanut

Mandate Crops / web

The arecanut also called as betel nut is the seed of the areca palm fruit (Areca Catechu L), commercially, the term refers to whole nut, cracked nut or split nuts.

Farmers Corner

Calendar of Operations

Farmers Corner / web

Arecanut Black Pepper

Mandate Crops

Betel Leaves

Mandate Crops / web

Betel vine (Piper betle L.), a perennial climber from the family Piperaceae, has been cultivated in India since time immemorial for its leaves. Known as ‘Tambula’ in Sanskrit, the betel leaf holds deep cultural, medicinal and economic significance. It is an integral part of traditional rituals, hospitality and social customs, often chewed with arecanut and other flavoring agents as ‘Paan’. As a masticatory, the betel leaves possess aromatic, digestive, stimulant and carminative properties.

Farmers Corner

Production Technology

Farmers Corner / web

Nutmeg cultivation practices in Malayalam Black pepper- Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Black pepper – Good Agricultural Practices – Malayalam Large cardamom- Cultivation practices

DASD

Director’s Desk

DASD / web

It is my privilege to welcome you to the web portal of the Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development (DASD), a national-level agency under the Government of India, entrusted with the development of spices, arecanut, betel leaves, and aromatic plants across the country.The Directorate plays a pivotal role in coordinating with State Departments of Agriculture/Horticulture, ICAR Institutes, State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), traders, exporters, and other stakeholders to address key issues and advance the mandate crops. The Directorate has been actively monitoring and supporting various development programmes implemented by State Governments. In addition, the Directorate directly undertakes developmental initiatives in collaboration with around 50 SAUs and ICAR Institutes across the country. These programmes primarily focus on (a) Production and distribution of quality planting materials, (b) Transfer of technology and capacity building initiatives, and (c) innovative programmes to address national issues in spices / arecanut sector. These interventions have significantly contributed to the growth of the spice sector in India. Over the last fifteen years, spice production has witnessed an impressive annual growth rate of 6.8%, with a 2.5% increase in productivity. Production surged from 35 lakh tonnes in 2005–06 to 124 lakh tonnes in 2023–24. This remarkable growth has enabled a consistent exportable surplus of high-quality spices, making India a major global player. Today, spices stand as the fourth-largest contributor to agricultural exports from the country. With rising global and domestic demand, the spice sector presents new opportunities for growth, innovation, and value addition. At the Directorate, we remain committed to addressing emerging challenges and working tirelessly towards the holistic development of spices and other mandated crops.

DASD