The Hindu Business Line : Castorseed may fall further on supply glut

"Fresh inflows from the Kutch-Saurashtra region have been increasing. Fresh arrivals in the north Gujarat are expected to begin from mid-January 2005. On the other hand, overall demand is restricted," a Gujarat-based trader said.

Spot prices at the major terminal markets of Gujarat have fallen by about Rs 200 or 10 per cent at Rs 1,700-1,720 per 100 kg on Monday from Rs 1,900-1,920 as on November 12, beginning of the season 2004-05.

At the Ahmedabad Commodity Exchange (ACE), castor seed February 2005 contracts prices also fell steadily from Rs 1762 per 100 kg as on November 12 to Rs 1,621.50 per 100 kg on Monday.

"Overall expected supply is good but export enquiries for castor oil and its derivatives are currently somewhat limited. Total export commitments for castor oil export are around 60,000 tonnes till March 2005," an exporter said.

"This year crop size is slightly bigger than last year and carry over stocks of seeds and castor oil is quite comfortable," a director of ACE told Business Line.

Latest crop size for the current season 2004-05 is seen at 7.50-7.75 lakh tonnes, according to trade estimates. At the 42nd All India Convention on Oilseeds and Oil Trade and Industry held on November 21 at Hyderabad, castor crop was estimated at 7.7 lakh tonnes for 2004-05 as against 6.7 lakh tonnes for 2003-04, up by about 15 per cent.

Export during the current month is expected around 22,000 tonnes.

Castor oil export during the April-November 2004 period was estimated at 1,30,771 tonnes as compared to 1,13,328 tonnes same period last year, according to figures complied by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India.