An active monsoon spell in growing regions has pulled down pepper prices in Kochi by ₹1 per kg, as the climatic conditions have paved the way for the presence of higher moisture content in the commodity by 0.5-1 per cent.

The emerging situation has forced buyers to quote ₹1 lower on Friday, which was reflected in the average closing price of IPSTA at ₹313 per kg for ungarbled varieties. The market witnessed a good demand both from dealers and end-users and the entire quantity of 32 tonnes offered was sold out, said Kishore Shamji of Kishor Spices.

The presence of Karnataka dealers to sell their commodity in Kerala has forced dealers in Wayanad, Mananthavadi, Bathery, Pulpally, Kalpetta to liquidate their stock, he said.

There was a slowdown in demand due to the closure of Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad markets due to worsening Covid situation.

Meanwhile, the global pepper market has shown a weak trend due to the decline in Vietnamese pepper prices by $2,450 per tonne. Sri Lankan exporters claimed to have sold around 1,000 tonnes of pepper to Kerala and Tamil Nadu dealers who are also involved in the imports of arecanut from the island nation, Shamji said.

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