Strong buying sentiment accompanied by reduced supplies in key markets of Gujarat and Rajasthan has fuelled jeera (cumin seed) prices within a fortnight.

Jeera prices have rallied by about ₹400 a quintal in futures markets. The active November futures at NCDEX was quoted at ₹14,380 per quintal on Monday while the bullish sentiment prevailed for the far-month contract as NCDEX December jeera was quoted at ₹14,555 per quintal.

On October 19, 2020, the November contract for jeera futures was quoted at ₹14,075 a quintal. Trader sources said that the prices are on the rise because of strong local buying along with renewed exports inquiry.

Festive demand

“Prices have gained in the past fortnight. The overseas orders are good and there is increased buying on the back of Diwali festivities.

Jeera prices have remained under pressure for a long time now. So we are seeing some upward momentum in the prices,” said Bhavesh Patel, a jeera trader from Unjha told BusinessLine .

On the other hand, supplies from Gujarat and Rajasthan — the key growing regions — have remained thin amid good export demand. At Unjha market, spot jeera quoted at ₹14,220 a quintal. Jeera arrivals during October crossed 19,000 tonnes, down by about 2 per cent from the previous month.

“In the world market also, India is the only supplier. Turkey and Syria do not have competitive supplies. So we believe prices will hover at higher levels till the new sowing begins later next month,” said Patel. The Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS) had released crop projections in February this year estimating about 5.35 lakh tonnes of crop for the year 2019-20, which was estimated to be higher by about 30 per cent as compared to previous year’s 4.16 lakh tonnes. Higher crop estimate for 2019-20, coupled with the Covid-19 led disruptions pushed down the jeera prices earlier this year. In May, the jeera spot prices had hovered in the range of ₹12,250 to ₹13,325 per quintal at Gujarat markets. Jeera prices had quoted above ₹16,000 in the same period last year.

Increase in acreage

The sowing area had increased for the year 2019-20 by about 25 per cent from last year at 10,25,600 hectares. Gujarat and Rajasthan saw an increase of 40 per cent and 16 per cent jump in acreage from last year to 4,39,830 hectares and 5,85,770 hectares, respectively. The overall yield is estimated to be in the range of 522 kg per hectares with a marginal increase of 3 per cent over last year.

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