Financial difficulties following the demonetisation programme are claimed to have weakened the trading activities and, in turn, has pulled small-cardamom prices down.
Only a third of all traders participated at the auction while the rest stayed away citing technical reasons. Consequently, despite having a strong demand amid scarcity of the material, prices are showing an easier trend, PC Punnoose, General Manager, CPMC, told BusinessLine .
Meanwhile, the quality of the material arriving at the markets is not good and that has also aided the price decline, a Bodinayakannur-based dealer told
Total arrivals during the season from August 1 up to December 24 were at 9,807 tonnes and sales were at 9,268 tonnes.
The individual auction average for the season stood at ₹1,062.43/kg.
Prices in ₹/kg: 8mm bold good colour 1,350-1,450; 7-8 mm: 1,250-1,300; 6-7 mm: 1,100-1,200 and below 6 mm: 1,000-1,050.