Tumeric

Turmeric

The antiquity of turmeric dates back to the Assyrians of 600 BC. Ethnobotanical evidence indicates that the use of turmeric has been in India since very ancient days. It is believed that the crop spread out from India to distant Asian countries under the influence of the Hindu religion. According to Marco Polo (1280) the spread of turmeric to China took place in AD 700. The crop spread to West Africa in the thirteenth and to East Africa in the seventeenth centuries, respectively. It was introduced to Jamaica in 1783. Though turmeric is now grown in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, China, Korea, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Pacific Islands, East and West Africa, Malagasy, Caribbean islands, and Central America, India is the major producer and exporter of turmeric at present.