Pepper Futures Price Decline

Kochi: Pepper futures market last week saw wild fluctuations and closed on July 21, far below the previous weekend closing prices and remained competitive in the international market. July contract on NCDEX matured on July 21 and 965 tonnes of pepper was delivered. The fall on NCDEX was from Rs 151 to Rs 289 a quintal while on NMCE, it was from Rs 14 to Rs 123 a quintal. Total turn over on NCDEX fell by 24,647 tonnes to 1,14,673 tonnes while on NMCE, it dipped by 862 tonnes to 7,891 tonnes. The open interest July and Aug fell by 1,300 tonnes and 4,556 tonnes respectively on NCDEX. Spot prices ruled firm at previous weekend closing of Rs 14,000 (un-garbled) and Rs 14,600 (MG 1) a quintal.
Brazil where harvesting has started in a small way in certain areas said to be showing some selling interest for Aug/Sep. Steady prices at higher levels in the international market signals that there is a tight supply position. In India, though prices were up, trading, however, was slow. Spot prices of garbled black pepper increased from Rs 14,721 a quintal at beginning of the week to Rs 14,926 on July 19. In Vietnam, prices were also reported to be on the up trend. At Daklak, prices for raw material increased by VND 1,000 to VND 52,000 a kg this week. In Sarawak, local prices declined to MYR 9,774 a tonne from MYR 9,800 at beginning of the week. On an average, local prices of Sarawak black eased marginally by one per cent, while f.o.b. price was stable at $4,100 a tonne.