Trade lauds curbs on pepper MIP

While thanking the Centre for its move to prohibit the import of black pepper below the minimum import price (MIP) of ₹500 a kg, the Consortium of Pepper Growers’ Organisation has said that this will help improve the price for the commodity in the domestic market. SR Satishchandra, President of the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd, hoped that the price of the commodity may reach around ₹400 a kg in the domestic market in the coming days. The price was in the range of ₹350 on Wednesday, he said. Vishwanath KK, coordinator of the consortium, told BusinessLine that the March 21 notification by the DGFT prohibits the import of black pepper below MIP. Earlier importers were bringing it under SAFTA agreement by paying import duty of 8 per cent and a fine of 10 per cent of the invoice value of the commodity, he said.