Sellers are popping up in Kochi to sell their black pepper stock, thanks to a good buying interest from inter-state dealers. This is evident from the arrivals of 36 tonnes, which is the highest in the last one month.

It was mainly the Coorg growers and importers who are the sellers for the trade as the present buying activity is mainly concentrated in and around Kochi, said Kishore Shamji of Kishor Spices. This is because the inter-state dealers who have committed to end users need coverage. Some of the dealers in Tamil Nadu who have also made commitments started buying from Kochi, he said.

However, the average price realised continue to remain steady on Tuesday at Rs333 per kg in Kochi and the prices for various other categories are hovering in the range between Rs325 and Rs340 per kg.

According to traders, Karnataka quality traded at Rs325 per kg, Puthupally and Bathery at Rs330, High Range at Rs335 and a small quantity of quality pepper sold at Rs340. New pepper was settled at Rs318.

It is expected that the upcoming pepper crop is also reported to be good which will be harvested in March. The dealers are not buying the stock from upper Indian markets as they are getting supply from importers from Delhi and Mumbai, traders said.

Trade analysts Acumen Capital Markets said that pepper December futures rose three per cent or Rs9.50 when last traded at Rs327.40 per kg on Tuesday.

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