The Hindu Business Line : Pepper futures decline

NMCE contracts were reportedly traded MG 1 at Rs 110-111 a kg, while on NCDEX, there were no sellers even at Rs 113 a kg. In fact, NMCE is said to be holding a stock of 6,098 tonnes as on January 12 last, while it was at 4,115 tonnes at NCDEX. Exporters who have got January commitment were covering.

Indian parity on Tuesday was at $2,775 a tonne (c&f) while Vietnam was offering at $2,735 a tonne and Brazil at $2,650 a tonne.

On NCDEX, Jan contract dropped by Rs 90 a quintal to Rs 11,12, while the decline in all other positions was from Rs 56 to Rs 142 a quintal. On NMCE, Jan and Feb contracts ruled steady at Rs 11,104 and Rs 11,250 a quintal respectively. Mar, Apr and May declined by Rs 72, Rs 10 and Rs 292 respectively while Jun and Jul remained unchanged.

Turnover down

The total turnover on NCDEX dropped by 5,407 tonnes to 10,591 tonnes while that on NMCE fell by 1,354 tonnes to 1,782 tonnes. The total open interest on NCDEX stood at 24,296 tonnes, while on NMCE it stood at 3,892 tonnes. The spot pepper prices ruled steady at previous levels at Rs 10,600 (un-garbled) and Rs 11,200 (MG 1) a quintal on Tuesday.

World pepper market, however, strengthened last week following reports that contrary to expectations the Vietnamese crop would be arriving late this year. Besides, thin carry over stock and the unlikely downward pressure in the near term has also contributed to the upward trend. Add to this, operators in Europe and the West AsiaMiddle East had started booking good quantities. On the other hand, Indonesia, Ecuador and Malaysia continued to remain limited suppliers of ASTA grade pepper to the world market. The expected fall in Indian crop has also strengthened the Indian position.

The Indian 2007 crop according to traders estimate would be 37,900 tonne. Along with a carry over stock of an estimated 20,000 tonne and anticipated imports of 15,000 tonne the total availability would come to 72,000 tonne. The estimated domestic consumption is 50,000 tonne. Available exportable surplus in 2007 is put at 12,900 tonne with an expected carry over stock of 10,000 tonne for 2008, they said.

Meanwhile, the IPC has already projected a likely 15 - 20 per cent drop in world pepper production this year due to unfavourable weather and widespread pepper diseases. At the same time the world pepper consumption is estimated to grow at 3.46 per cent a year. Add to this most of the pepper producing countries reported to have sold out their stocks, as the prices were attractive during the last two months. Given this scenario the global prices are likely to shoot up in the coming days, Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) was quoted as saying.

IPC Market report

The market for black pepper in India was calm last week and prices were stable. The spot price of un-garbled black pepper was Rs 107 a kg and $2,641 a tonne f.o.b.. At the Commodity Exchange, activity came down as indicated by a reduction in the volume of trading. Compared to the previous week however, average prices were still higher up to 6 per cent. At other sources, the market was unchanged. At HCMC, Vietnam, the price for local purchases was around VND 32,500 a kg. In Lampung, local price was stable at IDR 20,000 a kg and $ 2,665 f.o.b. for February shipment. In Sarawak and Sri Lanka, prices were also reported stable last week, IPC sources said.

White Pepper

The market for white pepper continued to be quiet. In Bangka, the local price eased by 3 per cent and f.o.b. price was reported at $3,570 a tonne. In Sarawak, local price decreased marginally, while f.o.b. price was unchanged. In Hainan also prices declined marginally by one per cent.

More Stories on : Spices & Condiments | Commodity Exchanges

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page