A lean-season rally in jeera (cumin), said to be driven by speculators, has taken prices to a new high of ₹19,930 a quintal on the exchanges. Spot prices, too, have remained firm at ₹175-195 per kg.

On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), the near-month contract for jeera stood at ₹19,930, even as domestic demand was firm with lesser availability, claimed trade sources.

Sudden rise

“There has been a sudden spurt in jeera prices in the last few days. The trigger is that we are currently hand-to-mouth in jeera. Even as there is lack of export demand, domestic demand is strong enough to keep prices firm for some time. We expect prices to touch yet another record high of ₹200 per kg from the current ₹180-190 soon,” said Vijay Joshi, a jeera trader and exporter from Unjha. Arrivals at Unjha stood at around 4,400 bags (40 kg each).

Exports for April-March stood at 98,700 tonnes, and are likely to cross the targeted 100,000 tonnes during the year. The exports, however, are lower than last year’s 1,55,500 tonnes, showing a 37 per cent decline.

The upside in jeera has been continuous and steep since March this year, when prices were at around ₹15,080 per quintal. In June, 2016, prices hit a high of ₹17,000. In about a month’s time, jeera prices have shown a sharp surge of ₹2,900 per quintal.

Experts see a seasonal phenomenon leading prices to remain firm during the lean season, which is around March to August.

“Some profit booking can be seen from the peak levels after August. The fresh sowing will take place after October,” said a trader.

Already, the far-month contract on the NCDEX crossed ₹20,250 for September.

Notably, jeera prices have been on a sharp uptrend since 2011-12. Prices quoted at around ₹118 a kg for June 2011 and were at ₹179 in June 2016, having risen over 50 per cent in five years.

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