The Hindu Business Line : Good pre-monsoon showers may help advance cardamom picking

EXCESS pre-monsoon showers, about 10 per cent more than normal, in cardamom-growing tracts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are likely to result in advance picking of next crop by about two months.

In normal course, harvesting of the next crop is to commence in the third week of August. This year it is expected to start by mid-June, plantation sources told Business Line. They said if showers continue with intermittent sunshine, the next crop would be better.

This phenomenon would lead to the absence of a buying pressure during the lean season. Besides, increased supply could push down the prices, market sources said.

Total production in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is estimated at around 9,000 tonnes in 2004-05. Since 2000-01 cardamom production has been over 10,000 tonnes in the country despite a decline in area. This has been achieved by increasing the yield per hectare, Spices Board sources said. They attributed the drop in area to low prices in recent years. The average price during the current season was little over Rs 300 a kg against Rs 365 last season, they said.

Presence of cheap cardamom imported from Guatemala in the domestic and the international market had led to the drop in prices, the growers alleged. Imports of cardamom into the country (at a unit value of Rs 120.94 a kg) had gone up to 227 tonnes in April 2004 to February 2005 from 50 tonnes (at unit value of Rs 227.97) in the same period in 2003-04. This shows that the domestic market had large quantity of imported cardamom, they said.

A similar situation is prevailing in the overseas market also and that has been pushing down Indian exports, they said. If Indian exports in 2000-01 stood at 1,545.06 tonnes valued at Rs 84.68 crore it was 1,030.93 tonnes worth Rs 61.68 crore the next year. It fell to 681.85 tonnes worth Rs 47.07 crore in 2002-03. However, there was a marginal increase to 690 tonnes valued at Rs 33.01 crore in 2003-04 to fall to around 600 tonne in 2004-05, they said.

The resultant weak demand had kept the prices of graded varieties at AGEB Rs 415 - Rs 425, AGB Rs 315 - Rs 325, AGS Rs 300 - Rs 310 and AGS1 Rs 275 - Rs 285 a kg. At the recent auctions the superior 8 mm bold cardamom was sold at Rs 486 a kg while the bulk fetched Rs 280 - Rs 300 a kg.

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