Pepper future witnesses sharp decline

Kochi: Falling trend continued in the pepper futures as no positive decision has emanated so far from the Regulator on the quantitative restrictions on nearby positions, which will apply on July contracts from June 16. The futures saw a sharp fall on June 13, as the maturity is drawing near. The continuous decline in the futures market has made Indian pepper very competitive in the international market only due to a technical squeeze and not on fundamental changes. Vietnam was quoting 500 GL at $3,375 a tonne (f.o.b) while Brazil was offering B1 at $3,600 a tonne (f.o.b) and B Asta at $3,700 - $3,750 a tonne (f.o.b). June contract on NCDEX declined sharply by Rs 487 a quintal on June 13, to Rs 13,365. The drop in other contracts was from Rs 471 to Rs 636 a quintal. On NMCE, June contract dropped by Rs 233 a quintal to Rs 13,000. The total turnover on NCDEX moved up by 6,241 tonnes to 23,830 tonnes, while on NMCE it went up by 467 tonnes to 1,623 tonnes. June position dropped by 2,030 tonnes to 379 tonnes.