Lack of a buyer support and slow market have affected cardamom auctions at Puttady in Idukki with prices registering a drop of ₹100-125 per kg on Tuesday.
Major buyers from the North Indian market stayed away, while the participation of Kerala dealers was limited. Traders cited a subdued upcountry demand for the poor show due to the absence of support mechanism to stabilise the prices. All the main festival seasons are over in North India except the upcoming Holi in March, which would be celebrated with only a minimum demand.
According to traders, a revival in the primary market is strictly limited to the liquidation of inventory in the consuming centre of North India.
Meanwhile, a poor arrival has forced auctioneers to cancel the auction in the afternoon session for the third time in the current harvest season. The market is witnessing a slower demand and a subdued sales. It is pointed out that absence of sustainable quantity in the auctions would turn away buyers, traders said.
Liquidity crunch
The market is also facing a liquidity crunch, forcing buyers to stay away. The rising price in cardamom has forced wholesale buyers to procure more. But the delay in getting the payment from retailers due to a poor demand has affected cash flow.
The auctioneers KCPMC has offered 37 tonnes of 182 lots and the average price realised was ₹3,257. The total quantity sold was 36.4 tonnes. The maximum price received for selected lots was ₹3,686 per kg.
Trade analysts Acumen Capital Markets Ltd said that cardamom March futures fell by 0.06 per cent or ₹2.1 to ₹3,271.3 when closed on Monday.
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