Cardamom auction that was to be held at Bodinayakannur today by Header Systems Ltd remained suspended on the apprehension of disruption in arrival of material due to the stoppage of traffic between Kumily and Cumbum, according to auction sources.

Though the auction was restored from Tuesday, movement of goods between the auction centre and the trading centre at Bodinayakannur has not yet become a smooth ride, trade sources in Bodi told Business Line . However, some have managed to move the material via Shenkottai to Bodi, they said.

They said the cardamom that arrived for auctions on Tuesday and Wednesday were of average quality and good quality colour capsules were bought by exporters who were holding pending orders from overseas markets. According to them 50-60 tonnes of cardamom were bought by the exporters and that kept the market buoyant. Upcountry dealers were also covering. They said the material arrived was harvested earlier and left without proper drying and was of average quality.

At the Tuesday auction, 102 tonnes of material arrived, of which, only 84.4 tonnes could be sold and the average price was at Rs 530.22 a kg. However, on Wednesday, 73.4 tonnes of cardamom arrived and the entire quantity was sold out. Maximum price was at Rs 672 a kg and the average stood at 515.98 a kg.

There are three passages across the border with Tamil Nadu from Idukki and the main thoroughfare via Kumily continued to remain closed on the other side, trade sources in Kumily said.

The situation has not yet returned to normalcy and “we hope every thing will be normal in a week's time,” Mr P. C. Punnoose, General Manager, CPMC, told Business Line.

Harvesting also continued to remain disrupted because of non-availability of skilled labour. It is being managed by available local workers and Tamil workers settled in the region, he said.

In the open market 8 mm bold colour capsules were being sold at Rs 800 a kg. The prices for graded varieties in rupees per kg in Bodi today were AGEB 625 – 640; AGB 550 – 560; AGS 525 – 530; AGS-1 510-515.

Total arrivals during the current season up to Dec. 28 stood at around 8,270 tonnes, against 4,150 tonnes in the same period the previous season.

Sales during the period were at around 7,828 tonnes and 3,995 tonnes, respectively. Weighted average price as on Dec. 28, 2011, was at around Rs 515 a kg, while that on the same day last year was at around Rs 1,175 a kg. .

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