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Two major spice commodities are set to witness a contradictory price trend this year.
Buoyed by the higher prices of last year, farmers in Gujarat turned to jeera (cumin seed) from coriander, resulting in a sharp rise in jeera acreage and almost an equal decline in the coriander sowing.
Jeera prices slip
As a fallout of higher acreage, jeera prices are set for a slide, while lower acreage is set to trigger a rally in coriander prices making it one of the potential spices for attractive returns, trade sources revealed.
On the spot markets across the State, jeera prices were at ₹175 per kg and on the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange prices were ruling at ₹16,500 a quintal for March delivery.
“Jeera prices had averaged at around ₹180 a kg last year. Coriander was fetching ₹45 last year, which prompted many farmers to switch to jeera, resulting into about 35 per cent increase in the acreage for jeera and almost an equal decline in coriander acreage,” said Arvind Patel, former Chairman of the Unjha APMC.
Higher jeera output
According to farmer estimates, jeera production in Gujarat was estimated at around 2.75 lakh tonnes (approximately 50 lakh bags weighing 55 kg each) last year, which is likely to touch 4.12 lakh tonnes this year.
“The carryover stock is less at about 5,500 tonnes this year. Therefore, even if the crop estimate is higher, we don’t see an immediate slide in the prices. An impact of the higher crop will be seen once the crop starts arriving in bulk at the markets post February,” added Patel.
Jeera arrivals have started in Gujarat market, but in small quantities. “The prices have already touched ₹165 against the last year’s peak of ₹220. As the arrivals rise further, we expect prices to come under pressure and may fall further as reflected on the futures,” said Ashwin Nayak, a commodity trader and a member of Seeds and Spices Stakeholders Association.
Coriander: positive view
The influence of overseas markets such as Syria and Turkey will only be felt post June, when the domestic arrivals will start drying. According to Nayak, international buyers are currently maintaining a cautious stance for jeera purchases.
Market estimates have put carryover stock at about 50 lakh bags (of 35 kg each) of coriander, with addition to about 80 lakh bags of crop size, the availability will be around 1.2-1.3 crore bags.
“We expect a bullish trend in corriander and the spice commodity will yield higher returns this year,” added Nayak.
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