Sri Lanka, Jan. 11 -- The government aims to become self-sufficient in turmeric by 2023 stated Upul Ranaweera, Director (Development) of Department of Export Agriculture.

Sri Lanka cultivated about 9500 metric tons of turmeric in 2019. It could produce about 1500 metric tons of dry turmeric.

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%.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)....