The Hindu Business Line : Cardamom prices continue to move up

Kochi, Oct 7 Cardamom prices continued its upward swing during the week at auctions held in Kerala and Tamil Nadu despite increased arrivals on good buying support.

At the e-auction held at Bodinayakannur on Thursday, 14.53 tonnes of the commodity arrived, of which 13.97 tonnes was sold.

The maximum price was Rs 425-549, while the minimum was Rs 195–250 a kg. The average price stood at Rs 396.66 a kg.

Prices at the auction held on Wednesday in Kumily by the Cardamom Processing and Marketing Company (CPMC) showed an increase of Rs 10-20 a kg from that of the auction held on Sunday and previous Wednesday there.

The total arrivals stood at 51.7 tonnes, which was the highest during the current season and there was no withdrawals, Mr P.C. Punnoose, General Manager, CPMC, told Business Line. He said that there was active buying by upcountry dealers.

Buyers active

Exporters were also active and bought 6 tonnes of the commodity as small orders were coming mainly from Saudi Arabia, he said.

The maximum price on Wednesday was Rs 549 a kg, minimum Rs 257 a kg and the average price was Rs 420 a kg. While 8 mm bold fetched Rs 525– 550 a kg, 7 mm to 8 mm got Rs 450–470.

Below 7 mm was being sold at Rs 420. Good green colour current bulk was fetching Rs 440-450.

Total arrivals during the week stood at 127 tonnes of which 121 was sold and the individual auction average price ranged from Rs 392-410.

The buyers were actively covering to meet their demand for the ensuing festival season, he said.

The weather conditions have improved in the past 4-5 days and picking is going on in full swing.

If the good weather conditions prevailed, there may not be any further decline in the production, he said.