The Hindu Business Line : Cardamom rules steady

Arrivals have thinned. Exporters were not buying, as the quality of the capsules was inferior. However, upcountry buyers were active. They were buying to meet their commitments and nobody appears to be interested in building up any inventory, market sources both in Bodinayakannur in Tamil Nadu and Kumily (Kerala) told Business Line.

Exports in May are estimated to be around 20 to 30 tonnes. They said that the sales through auctions during the current season had gone up to 4,966 tonnes as on May 31, 2004 from 3,939 tonnes on the same date last season. The weighted average price this season stood at Rs 362.34 a kg as against Rs 563.17 a kg last season.

The sources attributed this increase to release of carry over stock from the previous year. Sharp fall in prices in the last months of the previous season (from November 2002 onwards) seems to have compelled many major growers to hold back their produce.

As a result, arrivals this year up to May 31, stood at 5,359 tonnes as against 4,351 tonnes as on the same date last year, they said.

The picking has already come to an end. Arrivals on Wednesday at the auction of Cardamom Processing and Marketing Company (CPMC), Kumily, stood at 27 tonnes and the prices ruled steady, Mr P.C. Punnoose, General Manager, CPMC, told Business Line. He said that arrivals comprised medium varieties - 5 mm to 6 mm capsules. Only 32 kg of 8 mm bold capsules came up for auction and that fetched around Rs 580 per kg, he said.

According to him, given the favourable weather conditions prevailing in the growing areas, the new crop from well-maintained plantations growing "green bold varieties" might start arriving by mid-July. At present, in only 10 to 15 per cent of the area under cardamom this variety is grown. The yield per acre is 400 to 500 kg in such plantations as against 100 - 150 kg from the plantations, which grow traditional Malabar and Mysore varieties.

The prices of graded varieties as May 29 were AGEB Rs 460 - Rs 470, AGB Rs 340 - Rs 350, AGS Rs 325 - Rs 335 and AGS 1 Rs 300 - Rs 310 a kg. Already, four auctioneers had suspended auctions due to very thin arrivals till the beginning of the next crop, expected by mid-August. CPMC would be closing its auctions on June 16 for two months, Mr Punnoose said.