Pepper Futures Declinei

Kochi: The pepper futures market declined on April 19, despite reported upward swing in the Vietnam price while other origins ruled firm. Increase in margin by the exchanges, NCDEX and NMCE, coupled with rumours that existing 2,500 tonne cap on import of black pepper from Sri Lanka has contributed to the fall. On NCDEX, April contract decreased by Rs 166 a quintal to close at Rs 14,731 on April 19, from Rs 14,897. The drop in other contracts was from Rs 132 to Rs 205 a quintal. April contract, on NMCE, fell by Rs 196 a quintal to close at Rs 14,597 from Rs 14,793. The fall in other contracts was from Rs 200 to Rs 304 a quintal.
The total turnover on NCDEX dropped by 8,791 tonnes to 41,841 tonnes on April 19, , while on NMCE it declined by 1,069 tonnes to 5,767 tonnes. April position declined by 62 tonnes to 940 tonnes, while May and June went up by 394 tonnes and 305 tonnes, respectively, to 18,643 tonnes and 10,743 tonnes. On NMCE, total open interest moved up by 110 tonnes to 4,261 tonnes. May position was at 2,674 tonnes and June at 1,222 tonnes. Coorg pepper was reportedly being traded at below Kerala price and there was selling pressure. And yet, spot prices here ruled steady at previous levels of Rs 14,200 (un-garbled) and Rs 14,800 (MG 1) a quintal on April 19.