Pepper prices ruled steady inspite of a spurt in demand on Thursday. However, on the futures market March series moved up. Buying interest was seen propping up in the domestic market. There were more buyers and they were covering directly from the primary markets on cash-and-carry basis.

If the current trend is any indication the entire pepper business is slowly shifting to Tamil Nadu as no VAT is levied there, market sources told Business Line.

On the spot, 39 tonnes of farm grade pepper was traded between ₹500 and ₹515 a kg. On the NMCE, March contract moved up by ₹155 to ₹52,300 while April declined by ₹100 to ₹52,470 a quintal. Turnover increased by four tonnes to nine tonnes. Total open interest dropped by two tonnes to 20 tonnes. On the IPSTA, March and April contracts rose by ₹1,000 each to ₹52,600 and ₹52,380 a quintal.

Spot prices remained steady at previous levels at ₹50,000 (ungarbled) and ₹52,000 (garbled) a quintal. Export prices stayed at $8,500 c&f for Europe and $8,750 a tonne c&f for US.