The Hindu Business Line : Cardamom rules low on lack of buying support

Arrivals have dropped significantly as the harvest has almost come to an end. At the auction on Thursday at Bodinayakannur, only five tonnes of cardamom arrived, while at Kumily on Wednesday it was 21 tonnes.

At Kumily auction, 8 mm bold was sold at Rs 410 a kg, while current bulk at Rs 290 - Rs 300 a kg. The average price was Rs 310 a kg.

There was no export buying. Upcountry buyers were also inactive. The confusion over the introduction of VAT is pointed out as the main reason for the north Indian buyers staying away from the market. In this confusion they seem to be not interested to buy and stock, Mr P.C. Punnoose, General Manager, Cardamom Processing Marketing Company, Kumily, a major auctioneer and exporter, told Business Line.

Add to this, he said, the demand for cardamom was seasonal such as during religious festivals and marriages and now these were almost over in the upcountry.

Meanwhile, according to some of the traders in Bodinayakannur the upcountry markets are having good stock from Guatemala imported at low prices. "Hence, they are not interested to buy the cardamom from here at higher prices," they pointed out.

The exporters are also facing the same situation in the overseas market where the Indian produce has become non-competitive in terms of price, they said.

The total arrivals at the auctions during the current season up to March 2 stood at 3,898 tonnes. The sales stood at 3,608 tonnes and the weighted average price was 305.41 a kg. As against this in the same period last season out of the total arrival of 4,156 tonnes, 3,816 tonnes were sold at the weighted average price of Rs 368.88 a kg.

Prices of the graded varieties were AGEB Rs 425 - Rs 435, AGB Rs 315 - Rs 325, AGS Rs 295 - Rs 305 and AGS1 Rs 270 - Rs 280 a kg.

Prevailing low prices seem to have compelled the major growers to hold back their produce. The production during the current season, according to plantation sources, is estimated at last year's level of about 10,000 tonnes. They said due to good monsoon rains this year there was good crop in areas, which were not hit by the drought in last summer and having good irrigation facilities. This has offset the drop in production in the drought-hit regions in the country's major cardamom-growing district of Kerala's Idukki district, they said.

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