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G. K. Nair

Kochi, Nov. 20 Pepper futures market fell on selling pressure created by bearish activities on Thursday. All the contracts dropped sharply hitting the second lower circuit level across the board.

One of the main reasons attributed to the fall is the crash in the capital market on Thursday as most of the players are engaged in both capital and commodities markets. Investors were on a liquidating spree. Exporters with commitments, dealers and primary market players were buying from the investors. The current market situation has made the small and medium operators the victims of the present onslaught, market sources told Business Line.

The Union government’s announcement on Thursday about the approval of the Idukki package prepared by Dr M S Swaminathan Committee amounting to Rs1,876 crore for the benefit of pepper, cardamom and tea growers has also, instead of pushing up the market, pulled it down, they pointed out.

November contract fell by Rs 463 to Rs 11,580 a quintal. December and January dropped by Rs 486 and Rs 492 respectively to Rs 11,667 and Rs 11,819 a quintal on NCDEX.

Total turnover fell by 1,049 tonnes to 6,777 tonnes. Total open interest also declined by 221 tonnes to 12,052 tonnes. Net open position for November and December fell by 201 tonnes and 282 tonnes respectively to 626 tonnes and 6291 tonnes respectively. January position moved up by 230 tonnes to 4,327 tonnes.

Spot prices on selling pressure and in tandem with the futures market trend fell by Rs 300 a quintal to close at Rs 11,400 (un-garbled) and Rs 11,900 (MG 1) on Thursday.

In the international market all the origins were reportedly steady/unchanged and there were no activities reported. Buyers are said to be on a wait and watch mode as the credit squeeze has hit them severely. Indian parity dropped to $2,500 a tonne (c&f) for Europe and $2,600 a tonne for the US. Thus, it continues to remain competitive.

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