Pepper falls marginally

The pepper market declined marginally on Monday because of a tug-of-war between operators and consequent high volatility.

Some circular trading also seem to have taken place involving both sides. September opened at Rs 43,190 a quintal and dropped in the opening session itself by Rs 1,050 a quintal to 42,140 and then moved up to Rs 43,380 up by Rs1,240 a quintal from the lowest price of the day. Eventually it fell and ended marginally below the previous day's closing.

Prices decreased albeit marginally despite substantial increase in the open interest, sources told Business Line .

Meanwhile, one section of the trade was of the opinion that the market will collapse while another was hoping that by mid-August pepper prices will touch Rs 500 a kg, market sources said.

Some 20 to 22 tonnes of farm grade pepper were traded afloat at Rs 401, Rs 404, Rs 407 and Rs 409 depending upon the quality, grade and area of production.

As the weather remained favourable, good quantity of pepper was being deposited in the exchange and as a result the stocks as on Saturday was estimated at 1,750 tonnes.

August contract on the NCDEX declined by Rs 25 a quintal to the last traded price (LTP) of Rs 43,250, while September and October were down by Rs 55 and 180 respectively to the LTP of Rs 43,595 and 43,995 a quintal.

Turnover

Total turnover increased by 238 per cent to close at 5,056 tonnes. Total open interest increased by 368 tonnes to end at 6,641 tonnes, indicating that there might be selling and buying outside the exchange platform.

August open interest increased by 207 tonnes to 5,461 tonnes while that of September went up by 163 tonnes to 1,102 tonnes. October open interest declined by 2 tonnes.

Spot prices remained steady at Rs 40,100 (ungarlbed) and Rs 41,600 (garbled) a quintal on matching demand and supply.

Indian parity in the international market was at $7,975- $8,200 a tonne (c&f) Europe and $8,275 - $8,300 a tonne (c&f) USA and remained totally out priced.

Overseas trend

Lampong pepper prices were reportedly down due to more new crop arrivals and “some selling pressure from farmers who are in need for money for Ramadan”, an overseas report said today.

L Asta was quoted at around $6,200 a tonne (fob). However, the report said, Vietnam was seem to be “more or less unchanged”. FAQ 500 G/L was quoted at $5,950 - $5,960 a tonne (fob) while FAQ 550 G/L was at $6,250 - $6,260 a tonne (fob).

While Vietnam white pepper double washed was quoted at $8,875 a tonne (fob). China white pepper FAQ was at $8,900 a tonne (fob).

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