Prices of poppy seeds have soared on a supply squeeze in the international markets. As a result, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has raised its tariff to $3,680 a tonne from $2,850 last week. A notification was issued to this effect on Aprtl 16.
Consequently, the domestic price for the imported material is expected to be above Rs 275 a kg, upcountry trade sources told Business Line . The import duty will be up by Rs15 a kg, they said.
According to them, given the tight availability in the producing countries due to crop failure, prices might surge to Rs 300-350 a kg.
Quoting suppliers, traders claimed that the poppy seeds crop this year in Turkey, one of the world's major producing countries, is “only 12,000 tonnes, with carry-forward stocks of 5,000 tonnes”.
In India also, the crop has failed while the Chinese output is reportedly low. Given this scenario, India, a major consumer, may have to buy from Turkey. In local markets, poppy seeds are being sold at Rs 220-240 a kg and sortex at Rs 250 a kg, with the potential for a rise in the coming days, they said.
They said the country needs 45,000 tonnes of poppy seeds; against this, the crop is estimated at around 4,000-5,000 tonnes this year and hence, much of the requirement is met by imports.
According to latest trade estimates, the Turkey crop will be at “around 12,000 tonnes only against its normal output of 30,000 tonnes”. Thus, there will be a huge supply and demand gap, pushing up the market. Turkish exporters and farmers, they claimed, are very rich and hence could hold back stocks to push up prices. Consequently, markets are likely to move up this month.
The validity of existing import permits expired on March 31 and their renewal would take at least three months, importers said.
According to latest information, India's crop will be 4,000-5,000 tonnes this year, following the reduction in growing area by 50 per cent by the Narcotic Control Board.