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Exports of nutmeg have shown an upsurge so far during the current fiscal following a reportedly strong demand from China.
Export sources told BusinessLine that China, which has hitherto been importing nutmeg from Indonesia, has switched over to the Indian spices. Tight availability in other origins coupled with competitive prices here is attributed to the increased buying from India, they said.
The trade has estimated the Indian nutmeg exports so far at 3,000 tonnes, at a time when the country’s production in recent years remained far below its annual requirement.
According to Spices Board statistics, nutmeg and mace exports during April-June 2016 have soared to 1,130 tonnes valued at ₹55.38 crore, registering an increase of 74 per cent in volume and 54 per cent in value. Shipments during the same period last year were at 648 tonnes valued at ₹35.95 crore. The unit value realised this year stood at ₹489.59 a kg against ₹554.82 last year.
The crop in India is lower by around 40 per cent because of unfavourable weather conditions such as drought this year. The output is estimated at somewhere between 10,000 and 11,000 tonnes, trade sources claimed.
“Our annual requirement for mace is 1,500 tonnes and as against this the indigenous availability is only around 800 tonnes this year,” Anand Kishor, an exporter, told BusinessLine . He said Chinese buying has shown a significant increase so far during the current fiscal.
Nutmeg requirement is at 4,000 tonnes, while the availability is estimated at 3,000 tonnes, necessitating imports, he said.
This year, despite a fall in production, the prices have been remaining low and the current upsurge in demand might push up the prices now, trade sources said.
Prices of farm grade nutmeg without shell is ruling at ₹400-450 a kg against ₹800-815 three years ago, they said. Mace price was in the range of ₹600 and ₹950 a kg depending upon quality/colour, they said.
Domestic production of nutmeg, according to Spices Board sources, in 2014-15 was at 14,400 tonnes from a total area of 21,110 hectares. The major producer of this spice is Kerala with 14,190 tonnes from an area of 20,630 hectares, followed by Karnataka and the Andaman & Nicobar islands.
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