Pepper export volumes dip 47% in April-September period

Pepper exports during the first six months of the current financial year have shown a sharp decline from that of the corresponding period previous fiscal, according to official sources.

The country has shipped only 9,750 tonnes of pepper, valued at ₹615.28 crore, the in April- September 2016 period against 18,567 tonnes, valued at ₹1,128.44 crore.

Thus, there has been a fall of 47 per cent in volume and 45 per cent in value, according to Spices Board sources.

The target set for 2016-17 is 18,000 tonnes, valued at ₹1,134 crore.

The unit value during the current fiscal year stood at ₹631.05 a kg whereas it was at ₹607.77 during the same period in 2015-16.

Meanwhile, imports soared to 16,500 tonnes from 12,275 tonnes in January-October last year, according to trade sources.

“The main reason for the fall in exports is the higher domestic prices and as a result, many buyers of Malabar pepper have switched over to Indonesia and Vietnam. Consequently, we have lost many of our export markets and it has now become a difficult task for the exporters to regain the lost market from our competitors,” Kishor Shamji, an exporter, told BusinessLine.

He said around 90 per cent of the export, of late, is re-export of imported pepper after doing value-addition such as extraction, grinding and sterilisation.

A sharp fall in pepper production in 2015-16 at 48,500 tonnes against the domestic demand of 50,000 tonnes and a consequent steep rise in the domestic market price is attributed to the drop in exports, trade sources said.

Meanwhile, spot prices continued to witness a sharp fall on an upsurge in arrivals amid slack demand. On the terminal market, 34 tonnes were traded at ₹625-660 a kg.

Spot prices fell by ₹300 a quintal to ₹64,900 (ungarbled) and ₹67,900 (garbled). February and March contracts on the IPSTA were steady at ₹66,000 and ₹64,000 a quintal.

Export prices were at $10,200 a tonne c&f for Europe and $10,450 for the US.

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