Pepper prices in Kochi continue to remain steady for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday amidst a slowdown in buying and arrivals. The off-take was 10 tonnes and the prices are ruling at ₹310 per kg.

According to traders, the movement of pepper to the neighbouring Tamil Nadu and to the upcountry markets of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan has become difficult and this has impacted arrivals. Most of the big operators engaged in masala manufacturing in various cities are finding hard to bring out products before the onset of monsoon due to the absence of sufficient labour force.

The departure of migrant labourers have forced them to run their units only with a skeletal workforce, said Kishore Shamji of Kishor Spices. Most of the units are falling under red zone areas that face restrictions in the movement of vehicles.

The lifting of curbs by Campco to procure pepper from Kerala centres as well has rekindled the hopes of growers in getting support to fetch a better price. On the price front, though the Karnataka pepper is ruling a little bit higher than its Kerala counterpart, there was a subdued demand from end-users, he said.

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