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Cardamom prices fell sharply last week on heavy arrivals from the early new crop outstripping the demand at auctions held in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Weekly arrivals have soared to around 400 tonnes because of the early good crop and that has happened during the usual peak period of the season. It has negatively affected the market sentiments in the country, market sources said.
As against 86.5 tonnes of cardamom arrivals during the first week (August 1-7) of the last season (officially the season begins from Aug 1) it was at 405.16 tonnes in the same period in the current season.
Overseas buying
Such heavy arrivals at the usual lean period of the season have created bearish sentiments in the market. Buyers slowed down buying from the declining market. To make the situation worse, some were allegedly sending SMS messages to north Indian buyers asking them to hold back their purchases claiming that the average price would fall to Rs 450 a kg, market sources told Business Line .
Export buying has slowed down as the major overseas buyers have stocked enough quantity for the Ramadan month, which is already under way, they said.
Upcountry buyers were covering small quantities.
Arrivals at the Sunday auction conducted by the KCPMC stood at 74 tonnes and the maximum price fetched was Rs1,020 a kg and the minimum was Rs 430 a kg. Auction average dropped to Rs 578 a kg from Rs 693 a kg on the previous Sunday, Mr P.C. Punnoose, General Manager, CPMC, told Business Line .
He said that the upward trend in arrivals, of late, was not a favourable sign at present.
Total arrivals during the current season up to August 7 stood at 405.1 tonnes against 86.5 tonnes in the same period the previous season.
Sales during the period were at 393.7 tonnes and 86.2 tonnes, respectively.
Weighted average price as on August 7, 2011, was at Rs 622.34 a kg, while that on the same day last year was at Rs 1,353.21 a kg.
“The demand-supply mismatch has pulled down the prices,” market sources in Bodinayakannur and Kumily said.
Prices of all grades dropped at the auctions as well as in the open markets.
Prices in Kumily for graded varieties in rupees per kg were: AGEB Rs 860 -870; AGB 675-685; AGS 645- 655 and AGS 1: 595-605.
Prices in the open market at Bodinayakannur in rupees per kg were: AGEB (7mm) 840-850;AGB (6mm) 650- 660; AGS (5mm – 6mm) 630-640 and AGS 1: 575-585.
The weather conditions in the growing areas continued to remain good with the entire growing areas receiving sufficient rains. Given this situation “we can expect a super crop this season”, some of the traders in Kumily claimed.
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